Oliver Family Reunion
by JDPhoenix
Summary: Nick sets out to tell his parents he's a Ranger, Tommy takes Hayley's new job very hard, Kim gets a very interesting question, and Rocky somehow manages to save the day while hiding in Mexico. Being a superhero is chaotic even when no one's in danger.
1. Chapter 1: Family Ties

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: OFR has been nominated for Best Comedy at the Hope for the World awards! The link's in my profile if you want to vote!

**Oliver Family Reunion **

By JDPhoneix

Chapter 1: Family Ties

* * *

Nick suppressed a laugh. 

"Don't give me that look, Bowen," Leanbow said, mounting his motorcycle. "Just because Daggeron can't ride to save his life—. You get your love of these things from your mother and me, you know."

"You guys rode motorcycles when you were younger?" Nick asked.

Udonna's eyes took on a faraway look. "Oh yes," she sighed happily.

"But, how?"

Udonna quickly snapped out of her reverie. "You said yourself it's a long trip to see your adoptive parents; maybe we'll tell you the story when we stop for a rest."

Nick knew from experience with his adopted parents that "maybe" would probably mean "no" in the long run, but it was a long trip, maybe he could wear them down.

"Okay," he said. "You two ready?"

"Are you sure you don't want to wait for your sister to come back?" Udonna asked for the third time.

Nick sighed, thinking back on the last time he'd seen his sister. It had been just five days ago, only one day before the Master escaped his prison.

Nick had arrived home after a long day of monster fighting followed by a long day of sorting CDs. He had called, "Hello!" when he came in the door and had been answered with an, "Up here!" that sounded like his big sister was crying.

_He rushed up the stairs and froze in her doorway. There was a suitcase on her bed and clothes of every sort littered the bed and floor. _

"_What's wrong?" he asked, his voice small. He felt like a little boy again, the day Abbey and their big brother had taken him on a trip to Yosemite. He had wanted to be happy that day, and had been once they got there, but something about the way his siblings were acting had unnerved him. It was the same way now. _

_Abbey turned and sat hard on the bed. "Nicky," she began, it was his childhood nickname, one only members of his family ever used. She sighed and began again. "I'm going to visit some old friends. I need you to stay safe while I'm gone." _

"_You know I will," he said. A few months ago he would have been snotty about it, saying that she didn't trust him if she had to say it. But now, after so many battles, and with the way she was looking at him. He blinked, suddenly very afraid. She was afraid for him. She was afraid he would be hurt—or worse—and didn't want to leave him. _

_Abbey nodded. She slowly got up from the bed and walked to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. "I love you. No matter what happens, remember that I love you and always will. There is nothing you could ever do or not do to make me stop. Do you understand?" _

_Nick, his face buried in her hair, nodded. He was starting to cry and wasn't sure why. Was it just sympathy for her, or was he afraid he might never see her again? Or, he tried not to think the thought that was already in his mind, was he afraid that he would really have to find out if her words were true? Would she really still love him if he failed? _

_Abbey pulled back and held him at arms length and fingered the collar of his red shirt. She looked him over and smiled at what she saw. "Briarwood's been good for you. You've grown." _

_He gave her a half smile in return and she hurried back to her packing. _

"_I can still remember the day you came here." She let out a small chuckle. "You walked in that door and collapsed on the couch. You complained about a new job and an annoying girl." Abbey turned suddenly back to him. "We're going to talk about that later, just so you know." _

_She went back to her work but something about the way she'd said those words stayed with Nick. She wasn't just telling him that they were going to talk about girls and relationships; she was telling him that they would be together again; she was telling him to stay alive. _

_Abbey left that night, leaving him with a hug and a kiss and instructions about what to do if anyone came by demanding money. Abbey always kept her bills paid several months in advance as if she expected to be called away at any moment. _

Nick sighed, putting on his helmet. Abbey had called yesterday to say that she had been called away on business and might be gone for a few weeks. Nick had said that he'd keep everything looked after. Daggeron had agreed to housesit.

"No," Nick said. "Abbey might not be back for long time."

"But if she does come back sooner," Leanbow said, "she will have to find out."

"She _will_ notice the centaurs walking down the street," Udonna added lightly.

Nick smiled. "I left a letter with Daggeron. It's for her if she comes back early, telling her everything she needs to know. The guys have orders to keep—other things—from her until I can tell her in person."

His parents smiled encouragingly. They both knew what "other things" he felt she needed to hear from him alone. "Let's go," Leanbow said.

They tore down the highway.

* * *

"Well, well, well," Tommy said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the porch railing, "look what the cat dragged in." 

"Oh hush," Abbey snapped, getting out of her van and running up the steps to give her brother a hug.

"To what do I owe this honor?" Tommy asked when he had put her down. Abbey wasn't much shorter than him, but they were on the steps, so he gained a five-inch advantage.

"Remember that you love me."

"Oh no," Tommy groaned, going back into the house.

"It's not that bad!" Abbey protested, closing the door behind her. "Really, you'll be happy, just angry that I didn't tell you sooner."

"You're getting married!" Tommy roared, collapsing onto his couch.

"No," Abbey said, a hint of depression in her voice. Tommy latched onto that, but took it in a very different direction than she'd meant it.

"You're pregnant!" Tommy shot up from the couch, his eyes turning just the slightest bit green. "I'll kill him!" he growled.

Abbey forced him to sit back down—a hard feat when dealing with an incensed Ranger—and sat beside him, trying to remain as calm as possible for his sake. "It's not about me. It's about Nicky."

"He got a girl pregnant!" Tommy wailed, falling back onto the couch once more and covering his face with a pillow. "I knew I should have let him stay here, but I thought he would be safer in Briarwood with you. What was I thinking? There are active Rangers in Briarwood!"

"There weren't when you sent him to me. And Nicky didn't get anyone pregnant, at least I hope he didn't." She thought about that for a moment before shaking her head and turning back to Tommy. He was still covering his face with the pillow but now he was rolling back and forth as far as the couch and her body would let him. Abbey quirked an eyebrow and looked around the room. Beer bottles and cans littered the table and several had fallen onto the floor.

"Tommy," Abbey said slowly, trying to keep her voice steady the way one did when talking to crazy people, "what happened? Why are you drunk?" This was at least the twelfth time in her life she had cursed the Power's ability to neutralize the smell of alcohol. It couldn't neutralize the effects, _no_, it had to neutralize the smell!

"Hayley left me!" Tommy wailed.

"You and Hayley were never together."

"She moved to stupid Massachoo-slits!" he said. Abbey rubbed the bridge of her nose. _Now _he slurred.

"Why did she move? She loves California." She pulled the pillow away from his face to hear him better.

"Stupid Justin!" Tommy tried to grab back the pillow, but it required too much movement so he just flopped his arms around for a moment before crossing them petulantly across his chest.

"What did Justin do?"

"When he went to MIT," Tommy sniffed, "he kept saying that Hayley was better than aaaalllll his teachers. And since he was _so_ good they just _had_ to see if it was true. Now they want her to teach and she said yes!"

"Tommy," Abbey said gently, "Hayley's allowed to live her own life. She couldn't be your Alpha forever."

Tommy crossed his arms but said nothing.

"Do you want anything?" she asked, noticing his eyes start to droop. The only good thing about the Power and alcohol, it made you really, really sleepy if you weren't using the drunkenness.

Tommy shook his head, his eyes closing slowly.

Abbey carefully stood and walked out of the room. She grabbed as many of the bottles as she could without making any noise and took them to the kitchen. She took a cheese stick from the fridge and returned to the living room, intent on using Tommy's laptop to look in on Briarwood's local news. He moved a bit in his sleep when the computer powered up, but then lay still.

Abbey shook her head. "Last time I saw 'im like this was Valentine's Day."

Tommy sat up straight, a crazy look in his eye. "Kim!" And he was using the drunkenness again.

He was on the other side of the room dialing the phone by the time Abbey could react.

"Tommy!" she cried, grabbing for the phone, which he held high above his head. "Do you really want to do this?"

"Yes!" Tommy growled. He used his free hand to grab her right arm and twisted it around her back in a practiced move. He shoved her into the wall and held her there while he listened for Kim to pick up.

Abbey sighed, trying to get comfortable. Stupid Ranger strength. Not that she was too angry. She and Jason had been supporting Tommy on Valentine's Days for the past few years. They would spend the day pretending to drink with Tommy – because no one could out-drink Tommy Oliver on Valentine's – and then would help each other stand during Kim's birthday party that night. It was a flawed system, but it worked. As the years had worn on though, Abbey had become more and more sure of something no one refused to talk about, but she was sure they knew as well as she did. Tommy belonged with Kim. Not just in that Disney, true love, soul mate way, but in a make-each-other-whole sort of way. And if a drunken call was the only way to get them back together, so be it. Her Valentine's Days would be much more fun.

"Hello?" she heard the perky voice over the phone. Abbey was mildly impressed that Tommy actually knew her current number.

"Kim?" Tommy asked.

"Tommy?" Abbey could hear the blood draining from Kim's face.

"I love you." Abbey bit the inside of her cheek. She could not laugh.

The other end of the line was silent.

"I've always loved you. Even before I went Green, I knew. You and I are meant to be together, Kim Hart. Will you marry me?"

There was a loud thump and Abbey heard someone that sounded a lot like Dana yelling Kim's name. Tommy hung up the phone and plopped down on the coffee table.

"She doesn't want me," he said, hanging his head.

"She fainted, you boob. It's what Kim does. It's her signature move, like you yelling a lot in battle." She grabbed Tommy's arm and heaved him up. She led him over to the couch once more. "Now get some sleep. You need it."

"But, Kim—"

"Kim will call back when she wakes up. If you're still asleep I'll wake you, okay?" she lied.

"Okay." Tommy pouted, but obediently closed his eyes.

Abbey returned to Tommy's laptop and logged onto the internet. "Bulky Skulls," she read. She had thought Tommy's homepage would be google or yahoo or something more common, not a blog obviously run by Bulk and Skull. She scanned a few of the more recent articles and stifled her laughter. This was the greatest website ever!


	2. Chapter 2: Destiny

**Oliver Family Reunion**

By JDPhoenix

Chapter 2: Destiny

Flowers bloomed, birds sang, a gentle breeze blew, the picnic table was conveniently located beneath a big, shady tree; all in all it was a perfect spot, and Leanbow said so. That was how they ended up sitting around the table, debating what to eat. One of the benefits of magic was that they could conjure food from Rootcore's kitchens, but no one could agree on what to conjure.

"How about pizza?" Nick asked finally, deciding that his parents could pick whatever topping they wanted.

"Mm," Leanbow said, smiling wistfully, "I haven't had pizza in years."

"Ham and pineapple," Udonna said happily.

Leanbow nodded and Nick quickly conjured the food before they could change their minds. Sodas, plates, and a perfectly cooked pizza appeared before them.

"So," Nick said, swallowing a rather large mouthful, "how did you two meet?"

Leanbow tried not to laugh and Udonna hid a smile.

"I'm not sure we have time," she said slowly.

"Sure we do," Nick said. "Charterville's not far, half an hour at most. How long could your story be?"

"All right," Leanbow said. "But you have to promise never to tell Daggeron, I'd prefer my old student kept some respect for me."

"I promise."

"All right, it was twenty-five years ago…."

* * *

I grew up in the woods, hearing stories about how evil and dangerous the city was. But I was young and wanted to see for myself. So, one night when my mother and father had fallen asleep, I snuck out and went into the city. 

It was amazing. More amazing than when you first found out about the magic in the woods, because at least you had heard stories and considered your world beyond that. For me this was totally alien and for a moment I was terrified. Stone structures tall as giants, strange metal monsters that roared down that strange, black stone river that seemed to be everywhere, serpents that stood on the tips of their tails and shot light from their gaping mouths. It was too much.

I was about to run back to the safety of the woods when I heard someone cry out for help. Instinct took over and I raced across the river, narrowly avoiding one of the metal monsters. What I found sickened me to my core. In the shadow of two of the stone giants was a man, holding a knife on a woman as old as my grandmother.

I pounced on the man, knocked his knife away and fought him fist to fist. We traded blows for several moments before he realized I was better and pulled another knife from his boot. I dove for the one he had lost earlier, rolled to my feet, and faced him. He cut my coat, but got no closer than that. I cut his cheek, from just beneath his eye down beneath his ear. He ran back to the river and mounted a monster smaller than the others. He took it by the ears and twisted. A horrible sound, louder than any of the other monsters had made, came from the creature, and it took off down the river.

I cleaned the knife on a handkerchief and tucked it into my own boot, not wanting to leave it for some other villain to take. I offered the woman my hand.

"Thank you, young man," she said, taking it. "There are not nearly enough like you out here anymore." She shook her head and her gray curls bobbed. She tucked her bag under her shoulder.

"Do you need any assistance?" I asked. "A healer or anyone who you wish to call?"

"No, no," she said, waving me off and walking to the river's edge. "Though, I wouldn't turn down an escort home."

I smiled and offered her my arm. "I would be honored."

"I'm sure you would."

That was how I met Mistress Margaret Auldley. She spent the entire walk complaining about how the world was going downhill and saying that there were not enough nice men like me.

When we reached her house I was stunned. All of the houses leading up to hers were small, squat boxes with a small patch of grass before them. Mistress Auldley's house was something different. It too was small and squat, but there was no grass. Instead there was a garden overflowing with vines and flowers and a path that curved from the gate up to the front door and a bubbling fountain. Even in the pale light from the snakes and the waning moon I was awestruck. In this world filled with stone and metal, here was a piece of true beauty.

"Well, thank you, boy," Mistress Auldley said, pulling her arm out of mine and walking through the gate. "You run along home to your mother, she must be worried sick."

"Y-yes ma'am," I said and slowly walked off, turning back occasionally to look at Mistress Auldley's garden.

* * *

The next day I did my chores as quickly as I could and hurried down to the practice ring. Snow Prince required a set amount of time from each of his students, so the sooner I started, the sooner I was done. By the time my friends arrived to train I was almost through. 

I raced through the woods and to a place where the city's children played. The younglings were climbing all over a tangle of metal in the middle of a sand pit while their parents looked on from the grass. I considered them for a moment, and realized that in the darkness of the night I had looked over one very important fact: people in the city dressed very differently from people in the forest.

I looked down at my training uniform. I knew the small magic that allowed me to change into it from my normal clothes; perhaps it could work another way. I saw a young man walking across the river from the children and concentrated. Suddenly, I was wearing very odd clothes. The breeches were stiff and the shoes small and bulky at the same time. My shirt felt too loose compared to the other clothes I now wore. I sighed and set off towards Mistress Auldley's house.

I was content to simply lean on the fence and stare at her garden, but Mistress Auldley would not stand for idleness.

"Well, look who it is!" she cried, coming out of the house. "Well, come on. You might as well be useful if you're going to be hanging around."

She set me to watering the plants. Then she had me clean something called gutters and then the windows. By the time I was done with all that it was time to go. I came back the next day and the next. Soon she allowed me into her house and I began fixing things. The fact that I had no idea what a toaster was did not stop me from tinkering with it and soon I managed to get it working, along with many other appliances around the house.

I wasn't sure at first why I kept coming back. Mistress Auldley was not gentle of spirit by any means. These scars on my knuckles are from her. She used to rap them with a cane if I did something wrong. But she was nice in her own way and she needed someone. She talked often and I soon found that her own children had left her years ago and that her husband had been killed in an accident with one of those monsters on the river.

I like helping her too. I got to learn more about this strange world and be of use at the same time. Not to mention, I wanted to undo some of what her children had done to her spirit.

"Come on," Mistress Auldley said one day. I had been coming to see her every day for almost two weeks and this was the first time she had asked me to come anywhere with her.

"Where are we going?" I asked as she put on her straw hat and led the way down what I had learned was called the sidewalk.

"The store. I'm running out of a few things."

I shrugged and followed closely behind.

* * *

The store was amazing. Rows upon rows of everything you could ever need, all packaged neatly in boxes. I was so caught up in the wonder of it all that I lost Mistress Auldley twice. The second time I had been looking at cereal. The packages were all so colorful and bright and their contents all looked so different. I wondered if Mistress Auldley would need any, and if she would let me try it. I realized with a start that Mistress Auldley was gone. I turned to race down the aisle and bumped into someone. 

"I'm sorry," I said.

"It's okay," a gentle voice answered. I looked up into green eyes. "Need any help?" she asked. Her black hair was in a long braid that hung down her back. She was beautiful.

"I- I-" I was lost for words as we both stood. "I lost Mistress Auldley!" I cried suddenly.

"Lee!" Mistress Auldley snapped from behind me. I turned to see her standing at the end of the aisle. "What are you doing accosting young ladies like that? You should be ashamed. Now apologize and hurry along."

"Yes ma'am," I gulped. I turned sheepishly back to the girl. "Please accept my most humble apologies," I said quietly, bowing my head.

"It's okay," she said. I looked up to see several girls behind her, all giggling at me. "Hey," she said slowly, "there's this party in the park tonight, do you want to come?"

"Party?"

"It's totally free. Just a lot of people getting together. There's this band that's going to play. Nothing major."

"All right," I said slowly.

"Okay, maybe I'll see you there," she said and walked away.

A smile slowly grew on my face. I liked the city.

* * *

That night I went home and ate dinner with my parents. My strange absences had taken their toll. My parents were giving me strange looks every time I saw them, but I didn't care. All I could think about were sea green eyes. 

It was my first party in the city and it was very odd. People played strange instruments that, despite their alien sounds, I grew to like.

I found the girl surrounded by several of her friends. They were all dancing to the strange music. I had never seen anyone move like that. For a few minutes I was entranced. Just watching her was wonderful. Then, someone pushed through the crowd to her. Several of her friends gasped when they saw him and I heard one say, "She doesn't want to see you." But the man pushed on, grabbing the girl roughly by the arm.

"Ronny!" he yelled. "What are you doing here?" He shook her viciously and I saw her eyes grow wide in the pale light.

"Having fun," she said defiantly, trying to pull away from him, but he held her fast.

"Well let's go have some fun somewhere else." He walked back the way he had come, pulling her behind him.

Several of her friends protested as she tried to scratch him to make him let go.

"We aren't together, Mike," she spat, "we never were. Now let me go!"

He turned back to regard her with an evil glare and I felt the earth beneath me shift. There was a scar running down his cheek and I suddenly knew that I had faced this man before. I stepped up to him and grabbed the arm that held Ronny.

"You will unhand this lady," I said coolly, "or you will deal with me." I tightened my grip on his arm. He tried to stare me down until the ever-growing pressure became too much for him and he let go, stumbling back and clutching the arm.

"You," he hissed. "I'll kill you!" he cried, pulling a knife from somewhere and racing at me.

I dodged to the right and he stumbled over my leg. He turned mid-fall and slashed at my back. The blade sunk into my left side and arm. I cried out and fell. I realized too late that I'd made a mistake. He was on me in an instant and I felt the blade again, this time it went into my right shoulder. I rolled to the side, using my weight to crush him. He let go of the knife and I jumped to my feet. The blade's hilt was small enough that it shouldn't deter me in battle and it was best to leave the blade where it was for the moment. He lunged at me and I grabbed his neck in midair, lifting him up so that his feet were kicking.

I cannot tell you what my face looked like, but it was enough to make the man lose control of himself.

"You will leave this lady alone," I said, the calm, cold tone of my voice frightening even me. "I will never see you again. If I ever even hear that you have assaulted another woman I will hunt you to the ends of the earth. Do you understand?"

He nodded as best he could. His eyes were like a caged animal that knows it is going to be eaten. I am ashamed to say that I took some small pleasure in that. I dropped him and he ran off into the night.

Ronny asked me if I needed any help, but I just shook my head and walked away.

All I remember after that was waking up in my bed at home. My mother was standing over me, cleaning my wounds and asking where I had gotten them. My father was in the corner, giving me a look that clearly meant I was in trouble.

Since I couldn't explain where I had gotten the wounds from I was given a week of punishment work. I had to help one of the nearby villages with the planting season in my spare time. It was hard work and it gave me far too much time to think about things that were green.

When that was done no one could think of an excuse to keep me nearby so I was allowed to go where I wished once more. When I returned to Mistress Auldley's house she was pruning one of the bushes.

"Nice of you to show back up," she said. "From what I hear you're a regular knight in shining armor."

"Huh?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"That Ronny girl has been coming here every day for the past week looking for you," she said. She kept her eyes on her work and her eyes were half lidded, as if even that only deserved half her attention. "She left that too." She threw her head to one side to indicate the small garage. "Said that since that punk left it behind she thought you deserved it."

I walked cautiously through the open door. The light outside was so bright that I couldn't see anything beyond the entrance until I was fully inside. When my eyes finally adjusted I gasped. It was the monster that the "punk" had ridden. Mistress Auldley had implied that these monsters were not monsters at all, but machines like the toaster, but I was still unsure. The toaster made a pleasant _ding_, but this made a deafening roar.

"Lee?" Mistress Auldley called.

I hurried out of the garage to see what she wanted.

"If the past week was any indication, Ronny'll be here soon. I recommend you go inside and get cleaned up."

I paled. Ronny was coming here? I raced inside and washed my face and hands. I spent ten minutes trying to figure out what to do with my hair before deciding that there was nothing I could do to it and running back out. I raced out the front door so fast that I had just enough time to notice that Ronny was chatting pleasantly with Mistress Auldley before I began sliding on the gravel. I ended up flat on my back.

Ronny rushed to my side.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes wide in concern.

"Fine," I grunted, heaving myself up.

"Good," she said, smiling.

We stood there, smiling at each other, for several minutes before Mistress Auldley got fed up with my stupidity.

"Lee," she called. "I need some flour and sugar. Would you two run down to the store and get some for me?"

I agreed before I realized that she had included Ronny in that request.

"You know where the money is?" Mistress Auldley continued, ignoring my horrified expression.

"Yes'm," I said, quickly ducking back inside. When I emerged once more, Ronny was at the gate, waiting patiently for me.

"Ready?" she asked pleasantly.

I nodded.

Somehow, I managed to carry on a conversation with her without mentioning any specifics. She seemed to prefer it that way. My parents, it seemed, were like any others. They were overprotective and loved me very much, but it was these qualities that were annoying. Don't think we're going to stop doing either, by the way, young man. My training master was easily explained. It seemed several people studied martial arts in special classes. And the farm work was not unheard of. Several farms lay within a day's travel of the city's borders.

By the time we returned with the flour and sugar we were good friends. By the time a week was up we had gone on a date. By the time a month had passed we were "going steady."

It was one of the happiest times of my life.

It did not last.

* * *

I was working on the monster. Ronny had introduced me to the library and I had managed to learn enough from the books there to understand how the motorcycle, as I learned it was called, worked. The man who had left it to me had left it in poor condition and I spent at least half of my time at Mistress Auldley's working on it. 

"Leanbow," a voice said softly. The voice was strained and full of anger. I turned to face my mother.

I stood quickly and bowed my head in shame. "Mother," I said.

"No, Leanbow," she said. "You will return home with me this instant. You have much to tell your father."

I nodded and followed her out of the garage.

"Lee!" Mistress Auldley called, coming out of the house. "Who is this?"

"This is my mother," I said, trying to sound as if nothing were wrong.

"Ah, well, it's good to finally meet you. You have raised quite a son here."

"Have I?" my mother asked.

Mistress Auldley ignored my mother's tone. "He saved me from a ruffian and has been coming back here almost every day since to help me around the house. Bless his soul, he's a better son than my own. You've done a fine job with him. You should be proud." Mistress Auldley nodded her goodbye and walked back into the house.

My mother simply raised an eyebrow at me and continued walking. We must have made a strange pair. I was dressed in clothes common to the city, while my mother was wearing her training uniform.

No one spoke to us as we left the city and I did not see Ronny, a fact for which I was grateful. I did not wish to explain her to my mother or my mother to her.

When my father returned home that night I told him everything. There was no point in keeping any of it from them and they would have known if I had lied. When I told them about Ronny my mother's face paled.

Two days later a friend of my father's brought his daughter to have dinner with us. The next week another friend came. Then another. Then another.

I did not return to the city during this time. I could only imagine what Ronny and Mistress Auldley thought of me, but I tried not to.

One day, when all of my parents' friends' eligible daughters had been exhausted my parents made up their minds. If I could not fall in love with a respectable woman of the forest, then they would arrange my marriage. I was more than old enough to marry and it is not unheard of among our people for the parents to choose their child's husband or wife.

They managed to find a family who had recently decided to do the same for their own daughter. Neither family asked many questions about the other's sudden change of heart, both were far too desperate. I had not yet met the woman, but I knew that if I was going to find love for her within my heart I needed to say goodbye to my first love. I was sneaking out of my bedroom one afternoon when my mother came in. I had one leg out the window and my hands were gripping the ledge tightly. I was going to fall soon.

"I'm just going to say goodbye," I said desperately.

My mother's eyes softened and she hurried over to give me a kiss on the forehead. "Be gentle with her."

I nodded and hurried off.

"Lee!" Ronny cried when I arrived at Mistress Auldley's house. She had been sitting on the curb outside, arms wrapped around her knees, and watching the road with far too much concentration. She raced to me and I caught her up in my arms. I breathed in her scent and twirled her around.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she whispered when I set her down. There were tears streaming down her cheeks. I wanted to wipe them away, but knew I couldn't, not if I could never do it again.

"I have to tell you something," I said. "I'm leaving."

Her mouth formed a small o of surprise. She looked down at the ground. "Where are you going?"

"Far away," I said, feeling it was best to lie. "I- I don't think I'm coming back."

She nodded, her eyes still on the pavement. "I understand. My parents have been talking about a- move too. Maybe it's best this way. If we just—"

"I love you," I said, unable to stop myself. "I just wanted you to know that."

She looked up at me then, her eyes shining with tears. "I love you too." She ran past me and took off down the road. I watched her until she was out of sight, taking the image of her, with her black braid trailing behind her, running away. It was the last time I would ever see her.

"You know," Mistress Auldley said from one of the windows, "you should probably go after her."

"I can't. She doesn't belong with me."

"Idiot kids," I heard her mutter, "won't even fight for true love."

"I have a duty," I snapped suddenly. "I have sworn an oath to protect—"

"Love is stronger than any oath. But fine, if you really think your oath is so important." She trailed off for a moment. "I'll keep the motorcycle for you, in case you ever do come back."

"You don't have to—"

"Will you stop being so cursed honorable all the time? I'm trying to do something nice for you, so just let me!"

"Yes, ma'am," I said, sufficiently chastised. "I have to go now. I snuck out."

"Have a good life, Lee."

"You too, Mistress Auldley."

I walked home slowly, thinking of my oath to defend the magical world and of Ronny. I snuck back in my window, my father never did know I was gone, and laid on my bed for several hours.

* * *

"Leanbow?" my mother called. "They'll be here soon." 

I made no answer, but climbed out of bed and got ready to meet the woman who would be my wife.

When I went downstairs the girl's family was already there.

"Ah, Leanbow," my father said, ushering me into the room, "it is time for you to meet your future wife."

The girl's parents stepped aside and I saw a crown of red hair, the girl's eyes were fixed on the floor and I could not see her face.

"Udonna," her mother said, gently taking both of her shoulders and pushing her towards me.

She looked up and I found myself looking into a pair of beautiful green eyes. She gasped and put a hand over her mouth.

"Maybe we should give them some moments alone," my father said and our parents quietly left the room.

Udonna and I fell onto the nearest bench, unable to look away from each other.

"You're-" I began, "you're Ronny?"

She nodded and I could see tears in her eyes. "You're Lee?"

I smiled. "How? Why?"

"A few years ago the sorceress who trained me told me about the world outside the forest. I refused to believe that the whole world was evil based only on thousand-year-old legends, and so I went there one day. I found out that I liked it. I made friends. I just couldn't bring myself to stop. It was fun."

I nodded. "I went for the same reason. That guy who I beat up at the party? He was attacking Mistress Auldley. I stopped him and took her home. Her garden was just so beautiful that I wanted to see it during the day and when I did she gave me work to do. Then, there was you."

She smiled and blushed.

* * *

"The next day I went out to begin work on our home. A month later, we were married and moved in." 

Nick smiled at his parents. "But," he said, "what happened to Mistress Auldley and the motorcycle?"

Udonna grinned. "Well, once we were married our parents couldn't keep us from visiting the city so we went back to visit Mistress Auldley. After much debate we decided to tell her everything. All of our other friends just heard that we eloped and were living outside the city. Mistress Auldley took the news well. It seemed she had ventured into the forest as a very young girl and had known all along that there was something strange about the two of us. She was not at all surprised to find out who we really were."

"She still lives in the same old house," Leanbow said. "That's where we were while you were saying goodbye to Ma—" Udonna elbowed her husband in the ribs. "The others," he grunted. "We were getting my old bike and the one Udonna later bought from her garage. When we get back, you have to go meet her."

"Sure," Nick said. "Was she at the battle?"

"No, she said she was busy forcing a Hidiac to sweep her driveway. It seems it knocked over one of her potted plants a few weeks ago and she forced it to clean up. The poor creature has been in her service ever since."

Nick laughed. "Okay, I think it's time we get going."

"Does your cousin know we're coming?" Udonna asked.

"Of course. Cousin Josh said he'd love to put me and two of my friends up for the night. His wife is totally cool, you'll like her."

"Do you plan on telling them who we really are?" Leanbow asked.

"Yeah, just- not over the phone."

* * *

Remember to review! 


	3. Chapter 3: The Europe Incident

**Oliver Family Reunion**

By JDPhoenix

Chapter 3: The Europe Incident

Kim slowly opened her eyes. Dana was kneeling over her, taking her pulse.

"Thank goodness you're all right," Alyssa sighed and Kim saw her standing a few feet away along with Tori, Kelsey, Ashley, and Cassie.

"We thought someone had attacked you through the phone," Kelsey added. Dana shot her a look. "What?" Kelsey asked. "It could happen."

"I'm fine," Kim said, feeling the back of her head for a bruise, "really."

"What happened?" Cassie asked.

"You looked like a ghost had called," Ashley said. The other girls all kneeled around Kim, who Dana would only allow to sit up so far.

Kim sighed. "Where's my phone?" she asked. She wanted a bit more proof before she told the others. Tori handed over the fallen cell phone. Kim flipped it open, silently praying. She wasn't sure what she was praying for when she saw the Reefside area code.

"Just like that," Ashley said quietly. Kim looked up at her sharply then smiled. Her face _had_ paled a bit.

"It was Tommy."

"Oliver?" Tori blurted.

Kim nodded. "He said he loved me, that he always had, and that we were meant to be together. Then he proposed. I think that's when I fainted."

"Call him back!" Cassie cried.

"No! Make him wait!" Kelsey said. "It's what he gets for springing it on you."

"Oh," Ashley squealed, "it'll be the most beautiful wedding."

"Everything Pink," Dana said.

"And Green," Cassie added.

"And White," Kendrix put in.

"And Red," Tori said.

"And Black!" they chorused and erupted into giggles.

"Guys!" Kim cried, shocked at her friends' behavior. "Aren't we forgetting something?" The Rangers all looked at each other in confusion then back to Kim. None of them knew what she was talking about.

"I haven't even decided if I'd marry him yet. And anyway," she added, climbing to her feet and putting her hands on her hips to look as intimidating as possible, "who says I'd marry a guy who I haven't spoken to in years and who just out of the blue proposes?"

"You're kidding," Tori said, "right?"

"You've been pining for Tommy for years," Kelsey said.

Kim let out a small valley-girl cry of insult.

"Don't deny it, Kim," Dana said gently. "Everyone knows you have."

Kim resigned herself to the fact that Ranger girls were way too intuitive, especially about each other. "But to agree to marry him so suddenly?"

"It would be so romantic," Alyssa said, starry eyed.

"Oh hush," Kim snapped. "Where are Karone and the others? We need that supplies if we're going to finish decorating before we go to bed."

* * *

"Hey!" Josh called, coming out of his house, his arms wide open to greet his cousin. Nick returned the hug. 

"Josh, it's great to see you."

"You too, cuz."

"What? No hug for me?" a voice asked from the doorway.

"Josephine!" Nick cried, wrapping his cousin-in-law up in a big hug.

"Nicholas," she said when he let her go. "Who are your friends?" She eyed the couple warily; they were a bit old to be friends of Nick's.

"Um," Nick said uncertainly. "These are my biological parents."

"What?" Josh cried. "That's great! Welcome to the family!" He hugged Udonna and gave Leanbow a firm handshake.

"Why, thank you," Udonna said, smiling happily. She would never admit it, but she had been a bit worried about how Bowen's other family would take them. "It is nice to meet you both, Josh. Josephine," she nodded to the woman.

"You can call me Jo," she said. "Nick only calls me Josephine to get on my nerves."

Udonna nodded, happy just to be surrounded by these people.

"Come in," Josh said. "Jo's already made dinner."

* * *

Abbey had snuck into the next room, realizing that she couldn't stop laughing at the website she was on. Bulk and Skull had uploaded all their old Ranger sighting records onto the internet in blog form and added more everyday. People actually donated money and information to the pair. Abbey scanned through old entries, laughing at how close or how far off the pair was sometimes. 

She squealed. "They have the Europe incident!"

* * *

Rocky and Adam had done things backwards. Most people took a year off and traveled around the world after high school. But being Power Rangers had been enough excitement and the boys had been eager to attend school like regular teens. Now that college was over they were itching for an adventure and decided to take the token world tour. Sure, they'd seen alien planets and hidden magical fortresses in their time as Rangers, but they still hadn't seen all the things that normal people talked about seeing. 

They were currently in Athens, drinking coffee, and basking in the glory of the Acropolis—and the two girls they had picked up on the train from Paris.

"So, you boys say you have never left the United States?" Mimi asked.

Adam looked at Rocky and the two boys quickly shook their heads.

"No," Rocky said, "not really."

"California must be amazing," Margot sighed. "All those movie stars."

"And Power Rangers," Adam added, bending down to blow on his coffee.

"Oh yes," Mimi said, frowning slightly.

"Did you know any?" Mimi asked.

"Power Rangers?" Rocky sputtered. Adam spit out his coffee.

"Movie stars."

"Oh, well," Rocky said, taking a moment to think and clean up Adam's mess, "our friend Zack is a professional stunt double."

"And," Adam added, "didn't we train that Dean Edwards guy?"

"Really?" the girls chorused eagerly.

"Oh yeah," Rocky smiled at the memory. "His agent said he had to have some actual Kung Fu skills and sent him to Angel Grove to learn."

Adam laughed. "He thought it would look good that his client had learned to fight in the hometown of the Power Rangers."

"Is he as good a fighter as he looks like in the movies?" Margot asked.

"Oh no," Rocky said, joining Adam in laughter. "Jason said he was the worst student ever to set foot in his dojo."

"He was horrible," Adam laughed.

Margot and Mimi sighed, each resting her chin in her right hand.

Adam elbowed Rocky, who was still laughing. "Um," Adam said as Rocky tried to control himself, "why don't we go see some of the statues?"

"Yeah," Rocky muttered as they left the café, "just what I wanted to see in Europe: naked men."

* * *

Kat sighed, looking around the room at the girls who were fighting over shower times. 

Kat had gone all over the world as a child and had loved London more than any other city, even Angel Grove. When she and Tommy had split after gaining the Turbo powers, she had stayed in Angel Grove just long enough to graduate, then moved to London to study dance. She had joined a prestigious company right out of college, looking forward to settling down in the city. But then the company had gone on tour and she was stuck schlepping all over Europe with a dozen other twenty-something girls, all of whom wanted first dibs on the shower.

She stood, gaining the attention of all the other girls. She had beaten up a mugger in Rome and now they all showed her a bit more respect than she was comfortable with.

"I'll shower in the middle of the night," she announced.

"What do you mean—?" Tracy, the list maker of the group began, but stopped midway in fear.

"I don't mind waking up at three A.M. to shower. I'll still be in peak condition for the performance." With that, she left the room.

She wasn't lying, she reminded herself as she walked down the streets of Athens. Her time as a Ranger had been so hectic that she'd gotten used to showering in the wee hours of the morning and still managing to go to school the next day and practice her ballet in the afternoon and fight evil in the evening and make it home to study and eat dinner with her family. At least here she didn't have to study or make an appearance at dinner. Or fight evil, she added. That was the best one to be rid of.

She pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders. It had been nice to be part of something, but thoughts of her Rangering days inevitably led to thoughts of the two people she wanted to forget.

She had been blinded by Tommy. It wasn't his fault; he hadn't tried to. It was just that he was so… so. He was Tommy Oliver for Heaven's sake! Who wouldn't want him? And he had been so eager to move on and forget Kim that she had convinced herself that he really could. Divatox had proven her wrong. Tommy had taken one look at that image of Kimberly and gone right back to the person he was when Kat had met him: Kim's knight in shining armor. He had thought of nothing else but saving Kim the entire mission and when the dust had finally settled and they'd had a chance to talk they had used her as an excuse not to talk about what was obviously going on between them. Kat kicked a tin can. She had broken up with Tommy that night and he hadn't fought her on it. She didn't blame them either. Kim had her reasons for writing the letter and Tommy hadn't known any better. She was okay, she had moved on. She had a boyfriend who loved her and appreciated her for who she was and not the color she wore.

She sighed again, looking at the sky. Had it really only been three years since that day? Three years since she had felt power and warmth and love enter her for a moment? Three years since she had fallen to the floor in the middle of practice in tears because she knew he was gone? Normal people saw a strange light envelope their surroundings for a moment; Rangers felt their mentor die. Kat would still catch herself wanting to tell Zordon something. She wanted to introduce him to her new beau, ask his opinion. Kim said she did the same thing. Zordon had been a father to them all, and it was only natural for them to forget that someone who had been so important to them was gone.

Kat pulled out her phone. She really wanted to call Kim. It had been over a week since she had talked to any other Rangers and it felt like too long. Everyone else in her life was too normal. No one knew what it was like to feel that weight. No one knew what it was like to wake up holding back a scream because you didn't want to wake up your roommates and then have to make up some lie.

Kat was coming up on a park and felt her ears perk up at the sound of a scream. Those sounds were just so normal to her, especially in a park, that she hadn't noticed them at first. Someone was in trouble.

* * *

"Say 'cheese'!" Mimi called. 

Rocky and Adam were standing on either side of a discus thrower, striking manly poses. They laughed when the shutter clicked and Mimi said it was okay to move.

"How about this one?" Margot asked, running ahead to a statue of a man with his hands on his hips, his chin held defiantly high. Like all the other statues, he was stark naked except for the laurel leaves in his hair.

"I wonder what he competed in?" Mimi asked.

"It doesn't say," Adam said.

Rocky shrugged and put linked his arm with the statue's. Adam did the same. Mimi held the camera at the ready. Margot gasped. Mimi dropped the camera. Rocky and Adam slowly turned to look at the statue. It was glaring down at them.

"What are the odds he's one of those guys who pretends to be statues?" Rocky asked.

Adam poked the statue's arm. It was very solid. "Slim."

"Great. Run!" he called to the girls just as the statue threw him and Adam across the pathway.

The girls ran away, screaming.

"You'd think they'd never seen a monster before," Adam grumbled, picking himself up. He smirked, realizing what he had said and threw Rocky a look.

"See," Rocky sighed, "we need California girls, they can handle the weird." He shot a look around, saw no one except the monster and reached into his pocket. "Zeo Ranger Three, Blue!"

Adam reached into his own pocket. "Zeo Ranger Four, Green!" he called. "It's good to be back," he said, flexing his hands to get used to the gloves again.

"Why didn't you go Turbo?" Rocky asked, sending a punch at the statue.

"Carlos has the Turbo Powers."

"But Jason and I can both—. You know what? Never mind. Just come and help me."

Adam jumped into the fray, giving the monster a hurricane kick. "What do you want?" he asked it.

"I am Hector," it said in Greek. Rocky silently thanked Billy for long ago explaining that the Power allowed him to understand any language spoken on his home planet. "I was imprisoned for using magic to cheat in the Olympic games. Now I will have revenge on the Greeks for taking my prize from me!"

"Uh, no," Rocky said. "See, we're Power Rangers. It's our job to defend the world from evil."

"Then you will be the first to perish," Hector grinned. He rushed at them and took one of them in each arm. Running on he hurled them into two nearby, lifeless statues. He laughed, lifting his fists to strike the Rangers when a blast hit him in the back, sending him to his knees.

Rocky and Adam jumped to their feet to see Zeo Ranger One training her blaster on the monster.

"Kat!" they both cried.

"Guys!" she yelled. The three embraced, glad to see each other again.

"What are you doing in Athens?" Rocky asked.

"My company is touring here."

"Really?" Adam asked. "We have to go see it," he said, giving Rocky a good-natured shove in the shoulder.

"Of course we'll go! Anything for a friend!"

The three turned at a roar from where they'd left Hector. He was flexing his muscles and baring his chest to the Heavens.

"Oh no," Kat said.

"I remember that," Adam said.

"Man," Rocky added as they watched Hector grow to an enormous size. "How long do you think it'll take the zords to get here?"

"That's assuming they even respond to our call," Kat said, crossing her arms. "We'll have to beat him on our own."

"Seriously?" Adam asked. "Three Rangers against a giant monster?"

"Wait," Rocky said seriously, "did you hear that sound when I hit it? It's hollow. If we can break it…."

"Okay," Kat said, "let's try concentrating our blasters on one spot."

"His left eye," Adam said. The other two shot him strange looks. "What? It's small enough that it'll be hard to confuse it with some other part of him."

"His left or our left?" Rocky asked.

"His," Adam sighed.

"Guys!" Kat snapped. "There is a giant, naked man walking around Athens. Can we please deal with this before it becomes global news?"

"Oh, it's already global news," Rocky said as they ran towards the city.

"The news cameras just haven't shown up yet," Adam finished.

Turbo speed and a better knowledge of the modern landscape got them ahead of Hector very fast. Adam made a detour to save a bus full of nuns from being stepped on—a fact that he would never be able to live down—but eventually they made it to one of the hotels. One quick jump got them to the roof.

"Our left?" Rocky yelled, breathless from the run as they aimed.

"His!" Adam cried.

They fired. Hector reeled back in pain, clutching his eye.

"Dang," Rocky said, "he's still alive."

"Not for long," Kat said and before either of the men could stop her she leapt off the roof, into the air and punched Hector in his wounded eye. He shattered, blanketing the city in a small layer of dust for the next week.

The next day the newspaper ran a story with the image of the Pink Zeo Ranger punching a large naked man in the eye. That picture quickly became the most famous Ranger image of all time for several reasons: no one had ever seen a Ranger defeat a giant monster without the use of a zord, the Rangers rarely left California—let alone the U.S., it was really a spectacular piece of photographic art, and—perhaps most infuriating—it was an image of a Pink Ranger attacking a naked man. Needless to say, the Pink Zeo Ranger was not happy.

Kat's roommates couldn't stop talking about it until two weeks later when they were in Budapest and Kat randomly punched a black man on the street. He had said nothing, and all he had done was smile at her and open his mouth as if he was going to say something. She told them his name was Zack, he was a friend, and she didn't want to hear what he had to say because it would probably have been annoying anyway. Zack showed up at the show that night with a pink rose, which he gave her as an apology. She told him that her only consolation in the whole matter was knowing that Rocky and Adam had lost the girls they were attempting to woo.

* * *

Abbey sat back and sighed. She had heard the story a hundred times – it was told almost every time a group of Rangers got together (as long as Kat wasn't there). And while Bulk and Skull's version left out the funnier parts, it was nice to look at the image and laugh, especially when Kat wasn't around to hit her.

* * *

_AN: Remember to review! They make me happy! _


	4. Chapter 4: Young Love

_Author's Note: If you didn't know (or suspect) who Nick's cousins were before, you get to find out now. And for all you complainers: suck it up! It's Ellen Brand's fault anyway. She had to write the Personality Conflicts series (which I highly recommend) and remind me they existed and how much I loved them as a kid. I've had this idea for years and now I finally get to use it. Yay! Oh, and Kim goes a bit um, odd – at the end. So you have to read at least some of the chapter even if you don't like Nick's cousins._

**Oliver Family Reunion**

By JDPhoenix

Chapter 4: Young Love

Josh smiled across the table at Nick's parents. They were nice people, but he couldn't help thinking there was something off about them. He really wanted an excuse to take them on a tour of the town the next day, just to see if his suspicions were warranted, but Nick kept insisting they had to make an early start. He wanted to get to Phoenix as soon as possible to tell his parents about his parents.

It was understandable.

Josh took another serving of casserole and smiled at Jo. She was a good cook, though he'd never known it until after they were married. There was a time when he never thought he'd even be able to admit he was interested, let alone marry her.

* * *

Josh was driven. Tommy and all the other Zeo Rangers agreed on that much. Josh had been sent to stay with his cousin, Tommy, while his parents went on a cruise. The boy had spent every day since arriving, in the Youth Center. He trained with the Rangers when they were up for it, and lifted weights when they weren't. 

"Poor kid," Ernie said, setting down a tray of drinks for the six Rangers.

"Do you know what's wrong with him, Ernie?" Tanya asked. She had been worried about Josh ever since his arrival.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ernie asked. He looked around the table for someone who would understand. His gaze fell on Tommy and he realized he was talking to the wrong group. "He's in love."

"Really?" Kat and Tanya chorused. They turned to look at Josh, goofy smiles plastered on their faces.

"Whoever she is, he's head over heels and can't do anything about it. Poor kid," Ernie said again, walking away.

"That's so sad," Kat said.

"Yeah," Adam said, "wish we could help."

"You can," Bulk said, coming to stand by their table. Skull lurked in the background, smiling stupidly. Tommy shook his head, he still couldn't get used to them in police uniforms.

"What can we help you with Bulk?" Rocky asked good-naturedly.

"The publishers of Beetleborgs are holding a contest to placate fans after Art Fortunes' announcement," Skull said.

The Rangers stared at him.

"Did you just say 'placate'?" Tommy asked before he could stop himself.

"What announcement?" Jason asked quickly, shooting Tommy a look.

"Fortunes said that since all his monsters eventually get brought to life he's decided to start putting a fatal flaw in each of them so it's easier for the Beetleborgs to win," Skull said.

Bulk chipped in, "The comic book Beetleborgs won't notice the flaw and he asks that fans ignore it too. The publishers weren't happy, but they couldn't stop him, so they're holding a contest."

"The fans get to vote!" Skull said happily.

"And today is the last day of voting!" Bulk half-roared.

"I'd love to help," Jason said, standing and slapping Bulk on the shoulder, "but I've got to pick up my cousin."

"Your cousin?" Skull asked. "I thought Tommy's cousin was the one visiting for the summer!"

"He is," Tommy said, pointing to where Josh was assaulting a punching bag. The poor thing was going to burst at the seams if he kept on like that.

"But my aunt got called away on business at the last minute," Jason said. "Her husband died a few years ago, so we like to help out whenever we can. My older cousin is staying with his best friend, but since the younger one's a girl—." Jason shrugged and ran out the door.

"Poor kids," Bulk said. "So, what do the rest of you say?"

Somehow the others managed to talk Bulk and Skull out of making them call the number to vote for their preferred character. It had involved some careful talking, but eventually Bulk and Skull remembered that they were rooting for different characters. The two had been dragged off by Lieutenant Stone, yelling at each other all the way.

* * *

"Josh," Tommy said gently, laying a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Come over and have a drink with us. Jason and his cousin'll be here soon, don't you want to be less- er, sweaty when they get here?" 

Josh clenched his fists at his sides and bowed his head. "No," he said. Tommy was reminded of his Green Ranger days, the boy's tone was so dark.

"Okay. But if you want to talk about _anything_, I'm right here. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. Sure, I know."

Tommy walked away and Josh went back to hitting the bag. He vaguely registered hearing the others greet Jason and his cousin a few minutes later, but ignored it. He wasn't in the mood. He knew Art was doing something good. He knew it. But it still hurt. If the monsters were more easily beaten, that meant the Beetleborgs would do fine on their own. No need for a fourth member. No need for Josh Baldwin. No talking to Jo without Drew thinking something was up.

He punctuated each thought with a punch. His breathing was heavy and Tommy was right, he was sweaty.

The others had gone strangely silent, but Josh ignored it. He didn't want to think, he just wanted to hit something. And this bag was just asking for it.

"What'd the bad ever do to you?"

Josh gasped and jumped back. He regarded Jo with wide eyes.

"Long time no see," she said happily.

"Uh huh," Josh said, unable to think of anything else.

"Mind if I cut in?" she asked, indicating the bag.

"Uh uh."

"Cool." Jo balled her fists and hit the bag a few times.

Josh knew he was staring, but he couldn't look away. Jo was so comfortable fighting. She looked like she was made to bounce on the balls of her feet. But something was off, he wasn't sure what.

"What?" she laughed. Her eyes never left the bag.

"Huh?"

"You're staring. Is something wrong with my hair?"

Then it hit him. "You're hat! Where'd it go?"

"I figured no one here would notice it was gone and by the time Mom gets back I'll have had time to come up with a plausible reason why I'm not wearing it. Any ideas?"

"Why aren't you?"

She stopped moving and looked at her feet. "You'll laugh."

"No, I won't. Come on, tell me."

"Promise you won't tell anyone, even anyone in Angel Grove?"

"Beetle's honor," he whispered.

She giggled and he wished she'd do it again. She looked him in the eye and took a deep breath. "I want to be a girl," she said quickly.

Josh's eyes went wide. "Why would I laugh at that?"

"You don't think it's weird?"

"Oh please, you are a girl." She opened her mouth to protest and he held up a hand. "I know what you really mean and I don't think it matters. As long as you're still you, I'm happy."

Jo smiled. "Good." She turned back to the punching bag then shot him a sly look. "Wanna spar?"

He considered it a moment. "Uh, no. I've been working out for a while and I'm a bit tired. Plus, we both know you can beat me easy."

"I won't use my powers," she pleaded.

He shook his head. "No, I'm gonna go have a smoothie, you keep going though."

She nodded sadly and began punching once more as he walked away.

"Did you two know each other?" Tanya asked.

"Yeah," Josh said, rubbing the back of his neck as he sat down, "we both live in Charterville. It's a small town."

The others nodded in understanding. A strange beep went off.

"What is that? I've been hearing it everywhere," Josh said as he others stood.

"Uh, I don't know," Jason said, "maybe some new toy or something. Hey, we're gonna go to the park, would you watch out for Jo? Thanks, bye!"

The six teens ran off. Josh shook his head. They were clueless.

"That her?" Ernie asked, bringing Josh his favorite flavor of smoothie, though he hadn't ordered it.

"Who?" Josh asked, looking from Ernie to Jo.

Ernie shook his head and walked away chuckling, "Young love."

* * *

Josh lay awake that night, running through the facts in his head. 

He would probably never be a Beetleborg again, which meant no excuse to talk to Jo without Drew getting mad. But now Jo was in Angel Grove with him and Drew was in Charterville. That meant he could talk to Jo all he wanted. But did he want to? Of course he wanted to. Did she want him to? He was several years her senior. Not much in the great scheme of things, but under the age of twenty it still seemed like a lot. What would she think if she knew how he felt?

Josh moaned. He hadn't always been like this. At first Jo had just been Drew's slightly annoying baby sister. But then they'd fought alongside each other. They'd spent afternoons cooped up in the mansion. He'd seen her act like herself: threatening house monsters, secretly reading romance novels in the basement with Little Ghoul, jumping up and down because they'd saved the world again. And he had fallen in love. Now he couldn't even walk into Zoom without looking around to see if she was there. He'd walk down the hallway at school and say 'hi' to her when he'd ignored a dozen girls who had said it to him. And she had done nothing to make him even think she liked him.

Even if Mrs. McCormack's trip took the rest of summer like she thought it would, Josh still only had a month. In a month the results of the contest would be announced and no matter who won, Drew would come to Angel Grove to make sure his little sister was safe.

One month, he thought. One month to find out if Jo liked him.

He rolled over and tried to go to sleep.

* * *

"They're so dumb," Jo giggled as Tommy and the others ran off a few weeks later, leaving her alone with Josh in the Youth Center. 

Josh had taken advantage of the time alone with Jo, trying to become her friend as a person instead of as heroes saving the world. It was going pretty well. They actually hadn't mentioned their time as Beetleborgs in over two weeks and they were still managing to get along.

"Why?" Josh laughed.

"Don't tell me you don't know," Jo said, keeping her voice low and leaning across the table secretively.

"Know what?" Josh whispered, leaning closer too.

Jo sat back in her seat and glared at him. "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you."

"Oh, come on!"

"No," Jo said superiorly. She got up and headed out the door. "Wanna go to the park?"

"There's a monster attacking," Josh said, indicating the television set on the counter.

"It's in the city, not the 'burbs. We'll be fine. I'll protect you," she added, putting her hands together meaningfully.

"Okay," Josh grumbled, getting up and following her out. "But if anyone's protecting anyone, I'll protect you."

Bulk and Skull bumped into them as they left.

"Shouldn't you two be handling crowd control?" Jo asked.

"This is more important than crowd control!" Skull cried, holding up a manila envelope.

Josh and Jo shook their heads and headed out.

"Be careful!" Bulk snapped as Skull tore at the lip of the envelope. "You don't want to damage it!"

"But we want to find out who won as soon as possible," Skull said, carefully ripping the paper. He slid a plastic-wrapped booklet out and the two stared at it as if it were the newly discovered Holy Grail.

"Ye- huh?" they chorused.

* * *

"It's nice out here," Jo sighed, taking a seat on a picnic table overlooking the lake. "Too bad monsters have to keep ruining it." 

"You mean like Hillhurst?" Josh asked. He lay down on the grass a few feet away.

Jo smiled. "I like the monsters at Hillhurst, they don't try to conquer the world."

"But they eat delivery boys."

"Not so much anymore, we've really managed to cut down on the delivery boy fatality rate in Charterville."

"Charterville has to be the only city in America that has a delivery boy fatality rate worth mentioning."

"It's supposed to come out soon," Jo said suddenly.

"Yeah, I know." Josh started picking grass and throwing it to the wind.

"Did you vote?"

Josh's eyes widened. "Why would I vote?"

"Come on, Josh, just tell me."

"Yeah, I did," he sighed.

"Who for?"

"Jo," Josh groaned. "That's not fair."

"Why not?"

"It's supposed to be secret."

"It's a competition to see who the Platinum Purple Beetleborg will fall in love with! I think I'm allowed to know who you voted for!"

"Jo," Josh said slowly, turning to look at her. "It's not like it's real. Just because it happens in the comic doesn't mean it happens in real life."

"How do you know?"

"What?"

"How do you know that it won't really happen? That something about the magic won't make it happen next time we get an upgrade or something?"

Josh stood and walked over to Jo. He took her shoulders in his hands and made her look at him. "You listen to me, Josephine McCormack. You are going to fall in love with whoever you want, regardless of what some stupid comic book says. Do you understand me?"

Jo nodded, giving him a small smile.

"Good." Josh released her. He had only just realized how close he had been to her.

"Aw, look at that, two little love birds, all alone," a woman's voice crooned. The pair whirled to see a woman in golden armor standing on the path a few feet away.

"Uh oh," Josh said under his breath. He grabbed Jo's wrist and pulled her behind him.

"Uh, Josh," Jo whispered.

"What is it?"

"We're surrounded."

Josh stole a look over his shoulder and muttered a curse. Putties were behind them and a gorilla in gold armor had appeared a few feet to the woman's left.

"I really wish I had my powers back," Josh muttered.

* * *

"Bulkmeier! Skullovitch!" Lieutenant Stone roared. "What do you two think you're doing?" 

The two junior officers jumped to attention and tried to hide the comic book behind their backs.

"We were- uh," Skull looked at Bulk.

"Making sure that people in the Youth Center remained calm during the current crisis," Bulk said proudly.

"The current crisis," Lieutenant Stone said, "is OVER! Now there are reports of monsters in the park and the Power Rangers have disappeared. We have been ordered to try and stop them from hurting anyone. Move!" Bulk and Skull marched-ran out of the Youth Center.

"What's up with them?" Adam laughed. He and the others had arrived at the Youth Center just as Bulk and Skull were leaving.

Ernie paled when he heard Adam's voice behind him. He quickly put on a cheery face before turning around. "Ah, Stone just gave 'em the riot act for sitting in here when there's a monster attack in the park. I sure hope Jo and Josh are all right," he added, almost as an afterthought. "I heard them mention something about going to the park."

Tommy and Jason were out of the Youth Center before their friends could even process what Ernie had said.

* * *

"Flabber!" Roland yelled, skidding to a stop as he let his super speed fade away inside the mansion. 

"What happened?" Flabber yelled, ignoring the angry yells of the house monsters.

"The new comic came out today!" Roland yelled.

When the house monsters heard this they raced down the stairs to see who had won. They were all interested in finding out who the Purple Beetleborg would fall in love with.

"Where's Drew?" Flabber asked, his blue face paling.

"He's already on his way to Angel Grove to kill Josh."

"Josh won?" the house monsters chorused with varying degrees of disgust and happiness.

"And Shadowborg, if you can believe that," Roland said, pulling the comic from his back pocket. "It's a special double issue. The first half details how Lightning Blaster gets a major upgrade and has been pining for Purple all this time. The second half is his battle with Shadowborg, then with Gold because Gold wouldn't stand for Lightning dating his sister." Roland turned towards the end of the book. "I think Art wanted you to give Josh back his powers."

"Why?" Flabber asked.

"Because there's a line in here—here it is! Lightning says, 'I'm glad I got these upgrades, otherwise Gold would've killed me for dating his sister.'"

"Sounds pretty clear cut to me," Mums, the Egyptian mummy, said.

"I don't know," Flabber said. "Hold on a sec." He put a hand to his ear.

"What are you doing?" Roland asked.

"Listening to Josh. Huh! I didn't know he knew that kind of language. Oh, there it is. He wished for his powers back. Good enough for me."

* * *

"Leave those kids alone!" Bulk cried, running down a hill at the putties. 

Jo rolled her eyes. The monsters weren't exactly doing anything. They'd just said they were waiting for the Power Rangers to show up and since Jo knew Drew would kill her if she was the reason Beetleborgs were seen in Angel Grove, she and Josh sat lazily on the ground.

Skull ran behind Bulk and Lieutenant Stone behind him. Bulk was halfway down the hill when Goldar threw a bolt of lightning from his sword. It landed just in front of the junior policeman, who tripped and rolled the rest of the way down the hill. Skull tripped over Bulk and Stone tripped over him. The three ended up in a pile at the bottom of the hill.

Josh shook his head, trying not to laugh.

"Get out of here!" a commanding voice yelled from the lakeshore.

Josh turned to see the Power Rangers.

"Oh," he said as the police ran away, "that's what you were talking about."

"Huh?" Jo asked, letting Josh pull her to her feet. She was intent on the comic book that had fallen out of Bulk's pocket and was being blown around by the wind.

"When you said they were dumb, you meant because they think no one knows who they are."

"Oh, right," Jo said distractedly. The comic book flew between Goldar and Scorpina and Jo jumped as it flew over her head, catching it between her hands like a bug. She eagerly opened the comic, trying to find the cover in the twisted and turned pages.

"Let those kids go, Goldar," the Gold Ranger ordered.

"Of course, in exchange for the Gold Powers," Goldar sneered.

A motorcycle could be heard revving in the background.

If Jo had been a Pink Beetleborg, she would have fainted, but as it was she was some combination of Red and Purple and that gave her a bit of an edge. "Run," she ordered Josh as she dropped the comic to the ground and cracked her knuckles.

"What?" Josh asked.

"I'll hold him off." That motorcycle was definitely getting closer.

"What are you talking about?"

The motorcycle suddenly came over the hill Bulk had just fallen down. It flew through the air and came to land behind Scorpina. The gold-clad Beetleborg dismounted and walked straight towards Josh. Scorpina and Goldar were so shocked that they didn't even bother to stop him.

Josh's eyes widened and he shot a glance at the comic book on the ground. His face paled and he backed up right into the putties. "Come on, it's just a comic book. It isn't real."

Jo walked up to the Beetleborg and firmly planted her hands on his chest. She managed to hold him back, but just barely. "What did I say about running?" Jo yelled.

"I would, if I wasn't being attacked by putties!" Josh yelled back. He dodged a fist and threw a punch of his own. One putty got a lucky hit to his back, sending him to his knees. Josh rolled out of the way, not noticing when something fell out of his pocket that hadn't been there when the fight began.

"Let me go!" the Gold Beetleborg roared.

"Not until you calm down!" Jo yelled. "It's a comic book! It doesn't mean it's actually going to happen! Do you think I'm just going to up and elope with Shadowborg if he shows back up?"

The Gold Beetleborg seemed to like this even less than Josh and grabbed Jo's wrists. "You are never leaving the mansion, ever again." He lifted her off her feet and handed her to Goldar.

"What are you doing?" Jo demanded.

"Lesser evil," Gold said calmly before turning back to Josh. He raced towards the boy with a battle cry of "I'm gonna kill you, Baldwin!"

Josh turned away from the putties at the sound. Instinct kicked in and he dove left, dusting his hands together. He had only enough time to remind himself that he didn't have his powers anymore before he realized that it had worked. He was invisible.

Gold began chasing the invisible Josh around the battlefield. The putties didn't know what to do. Scorpina was enjoying watching the mayhem. Goldar just wanted to let Jo go, she was _really_ strong.

A shot rang through the park. Everyone turned to see Zeo Ranger One holding her gun straight up in the air. "Would someone like to explain what's going on around here?" she asked sweetly.

Jo kicked Goldar in the shin and he dropped her. "That's my brother, Drew," she explained. "I'm the Purple Beetleborg and our friend, Roland, is Silver. Josh used to be a Beetleborg, but he lost his powers." Jo picked up the comic book and the small metal device that had fallen a few feet away. "There was this contest in the comic book, to decide who Purple would fall in love with. Josh's character won." She held the metal device up, "And got a power upgrade."

"Hey!" Drew cried as Josh appeared by Jo's side and took his Databonder.

"The Beetleborgs are little kids?" the Blue Zeo Ranger asked.

"Please," Josh said, "we're barely younger than you guys. Don't act like it's not true, we know who you are."

"So what color are you?" Tommy asked. He lifted his hand to tub his temples before he realized that the helmet was in the way.

"I was White." Josh looked over the bonder in his hand. "Looks like I'm Black now."

"I used to be White," Tommy sighed, stretching. "I've never been Black though."

"What about you two?" Jason asked Drew.

"I- I used to be Blue," Drew sighed, realizing he wasn't going to get to kill Josh. "Jo used to be Red."

"I used to be Red too," Jason said, nodding. "Looks like colors run in families."

"Weird," Tanya said.

"Billy'll have a heyday with this," Adam added.

"Excuse us!" Goldar roared. "We are here to have a massive battle!"

Drew turned to Josh. "Let's see what those new powers can do."

Josh smirked.

The battle went pretty fast after that. Roland ran in halfway through and lent a hand—that pretty much ended the forces of evil's attempts to conquer the world for the day.

* * *

"I wonder if any other superheroes are related," Roland said. He and the other Beetleborgs had been invited to the Command Center after the battle. The excuse was that the Rangers wanted to offer them the use of the Command Center's first aid, but everyone knew Billy just really wanted to check out the Beetleborgs powers. 

"Well," Billy said, examining one of the databonders, "my uncle created the VR Trooper's powers. His son is the Blue Trooper and I used to be the Blue Ranger."

"Huh," Roland said. "You know, my cousin, JB, lives around where the Troopers are usually spotted. And he wears a lot of black."

"But you were Green and Silver," Adam said.

"So?" Kat asked. "Just because some colors run in some families doesn't mean they all do."

"Guys," Jason said seriously, turning to the Beetleborgs. Tommy stood at his side, arms crossed. "You know you can't tell anyone you're superheroes, especially not now that we know we're all heroes."

"We know," the four chorused.

"If your parents ever found out, they might tell our parents," Tommy added, "then they'd find out."

"We know."

"And we have spent way too long lying to them for them to figure it out on their own," Jason said, "it would be better if we told them ourselves."

"We know."

Tommy opened his mouth to say something else when Zordon cut in. "I BELIEVE THEY GET THE IDEA," he said gently. "I HAVE LONG SAID THAT IT WOULD BE UNWISE FOR YOU TO TELL YOUR PARENTS ABOUT YOURSELVES WHILE YOUR LIVES ARE STILL IN DANGER. THE BEETLEBORGS HAVE NO DOUBT REALIZED THIS ON THEIR OWN."

"I always knew you guys were smart," Jason said, ruffling Drew's hair. "Let's get you two home before your parents realize you're missing."

Drew turned to face Josh. "You hurt my sister, and I will kill you."

"It's a comic book!" Josh yelled in aggravation.

"We should get going too," Tommy said when Drew and Roland had disappeared.

"Ah," Billy half-whined. "I wanted to study the effects of non-biologically related kin on color scheme."

"Later," Tommy promised, pulling Josh away from Billy's toolbox. "We have to get home and rest."

* * *

Billy hadn't gotten to run those tests yet, Josh remembered. He'd probably insist if Josh's instincts about Nick's parents were correct. He sighed and helped Jo clear the plates. He'd have to try to get more information out of them the next day.

* * *

Kim lay awake in bed. When the other female Rangers had arrived to help set up for Taylor's surprise baby shower they had quickly been filled in on the news. Kira had told them all that Hayley had left and Trent had said something about seeing Tommy at a liquor store. Trini and Kat thought she should go for it, force Tommy into marriage because he'd been stupid enough to propose while drunk. Kira had thought about it and agreed that she and Tommy should just get married. The girl seemed sure that Tommy was still in love with Kim, but it didn't make much difference. People had been claiming Tommy still loved her for years, he hadn't done anything about it. 

Maybe it was her fault, she thought for the hundredth time. The letter had been a mistake, she knew that the moment it was sent. But it was something she needed to do for her own piece of mind. She had spent her nights in Florida staying up late, waiting for a phone call from the others to tell her they had survived the day. But the others were usually tired from battle and didn't think to call her before collapsing into their beds. She'd actually snuck out a few nights and gone down to the local train station where televisions were set to the major news channels, and just sat their in her pjs and an overcoat, waiting for them to say something about Angel Grove and the Power Rangers.

She thought that maybe, if she left Tommy, she wouldn't worry so much anymore, but, in the end, that had just made her worry more because she knew he was probably broken up about it and he was sloppy when he was depressed.

She rolled over quickly and beat her pillow several times before settling back down, looking at the ceiling. Stupid Tommy Oliver. Stupid Power and its ability to hide almost all signs of drunkenness. Stupid Hayley—didn't she know Tommy was incapable of being on his own?

Kim sat up straight in bed. Tommy was drunk and on his own. She threw her feet over the side of the bed and raced out of the room. She had to save Tommy!

* * *

_AN: For those of you who are totally disgusted, the Beetleborgs only show up for a couple minutes later in the story and the Troopers are never mentioned again. Next Chapter: how Tommy ended up on YouTube _


	5. Chapter 5: Fools Rush In

**Oliver Family Reunion**

by JDPhoenix

Chapter 5: Fools Rush In

"Why do I have the strange feeling that Nick knocked some girl up?" Tommy asked, shuffling slowly into the kitchen the next morning.

"Because you were drunk last night and you jump to conclusions when you're drunk," Abbey said dryly, turning on the blender.

"Ah!" Tommy cried at the sound. He fell sideways into a chair and slumped against the breakfast nook table. "Must you do that?"

"Just because you're a Ranger doesn't mean you don't need a hangover cure." Abbey handed him a grayish yellow liquid that had way too many lumps in it. "And no," she said before he could ask, "you are not allowed to use that pill that Billy cooked up. It's dangerous."

"Does it have hair?" Tommy asked, eyeing the liquid and looking like a small child faced with a plate of Brussels sprouts.

"Just drink it," Abbey snapped, taking a seat across from him.

Tommy downed the thing as quickly as possible. "Ucgh!" he said, shaking his head violently. Then he put his head on the table, realizing that hadn't been such a great idea.

"You'll be fine in an hour," Abbey said. "Which will be perfect, since that's just how long it should take the two of us to get ready."

"Get ready for what? And where did I get the idea Nick got someone pregnant? You must have said something."

"Tommy, look at me." He did, though he kept his chin on the table for stability. "Nicky's the Mystic Force Red Ranger."

A smile slowly appeared on Tommy's face. "Really? Red?"

"Yup. Looks like colors really do run in families. Now hurry up. Bulky Skulls says that the trouble's gone in Briarwood and if we hurry, we can make it there, tell Nick the family secret, and still have time to make it to Taylor's surprise baby shower."

"A baby shower?" Tommy moaned.

"Tommy, your little brother is a Ranger. This is the happiest day of your life thus far. I wouldn't ruin it by making you go to a baby shower if I wouldn't get way too much perverse joy out of it to pass up the opportunity. Now get a move on."

God bless Tommy Oliver's soul, but the poor boy was too hung over to wrap his head around anything after "wouldn't ruin it by making you go to a baby shower." He tottered off, eager to welcome his brother to the club, and completely oblivious to the fact that Abbey was planning on torturing him.

It wasn't her fault that he refused to soberly admit his feelings for Kimberly. If Abbey had to lock him in a room with her, so be it. He _would_ face his past, dagnabit.

The phone rang and Abbey called up the stairs, "I'll get it!"

She went into the living room and picked up the phone from where Tommy had dropped it after calling Kim the day before.

"Hello?"

"Abbey?" Trini asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah, I thought I'd randomly drop in on my big bro. He was drunk."

"We kind of figured." Trini's voice dropped low. "He proposed to Kim."

"I know. I was trying not to laugh."

"How's he feeling about it?"

"Oh no, he has no idea. I don't plan on telling him until it comes up. We're going to Briarwood because Tommy has to pass on his Rangerly wisdom to Nick—he's the Mystic Force Red, by the way—and then I'm dragging him to the baby shower so we can force him together with Kim."

"Uh, that's not gonna go so well," Trini said nervously.

"What do you mean?" Abbey asked warily. Trini wasn't one to dance around the subject, not unless something big and bad was happening.

"Well, we lost Kim."

"What?" Abbey screeched. Thankfully Tommy had gotten in the shower and didn't hear her. "How did you lose Kimberly?"

"She went to her hotel room last night and when we woke up this morning she was nowhere to be found. The manager says he saw her race out of here sometime after eleven. We hoped she had come down there and was having wild sex with Tommy all night."

"Don't we all," Abbey muttered. "Where could she be?"

"I have no idea. Almost every human, girl Ranger in the Galaxy—except Taylor—is here and no one's heard from her. I'm getting worried. This isn't like Kim."

Abbey sighed. "Trini, I don't know what to tell you. Odds are she's still in California so it's near impossible to scan for her Power signature. You could try though."

Trini groaned. "Just keep your eyes out and your cell on. Oh, and, before you hang up, could you check Tommy's room. Just make sure Kim's not sleeping in or something."

Abbey rolled her eyes but obligingly checked Tommy's bedroom. She even checked the guest bedroom, the closets, the office, and the secret basement. When she reported her findings of absolutely nothing Trini sighed, repeated her instructions to stay in contact, and hung up. Before the line went dead Abbey could hear her yelling at Jason to hang that crepe paper higher.

Kimberly Hart was missing. If Tommy found out he'd go on a rampage. This was going to be a bad day.

* * *

Kim sighed and leaned her head against the hard, stone wall. She would never fully understand what had possessed her to leave the hotel in bunny slippers, pj bottoms with dancing cereal bowls, a pink spaghetti-strap shirt, and an overcoat, but she had. Maybe she'd been reverted back to her seventeen-year-old self by Tommy's call. Maybe she was just insane. Either way, she'd gotten in her car and driven to Reefside. Or towards Reefside. She had missed an exit somewhere and before she knew it she was on some dirt road in the middle of the desert. Things had gone downhill from there, quite literally. It was either a very large dog or a small deer that ran across the road just as the sun was rising. Kim had screamed, swerved her car—you never swerve! Ever! Didn't you listen in Driver's Ed?—and ended up top down in a ditch. By the time she'd managed to get out of her car a policeman had shown up. That was when she discovered she had crossed the border into Mexico. She had been thrown in prison for something. Maybe it was that she'd tried to run. That was when they'd taken her overcoat, leaving her feeling very naked. 

This was a story for the grandchildren. Grandma Kim got proposed to and thrown in a Mexican prison in under twenty-four hours. And to top it all off, she'd taken French in high school. What self-respecting Californian took French?

* * *

"Nick's a Red," Tommy said, grinning like an idiot as he drove Abbey's car down the highway. 

"He's really good at it too," Abbey said. "If I didn't know so much about Rangers, I might not have realized who he was."

"I can't wait to tell him, he'll freak." Tommy's smile turned into a frown. "Why do I keep thinking he knocked someone up?"

"Because you were drunk!" Abbey yelled.

"But how do you _know_ he didn't?"

Abbey groaned, but Tommy pressed on.

"What if, some of those times you thought he was out saving the world, he was really having unprotected sex?"

"Because when he wasn't saving the world, he was working in a music store."

"A music store? That's where sex was born!"

"It is not."

"Music is dirty. It puts filthy ideas in people's heads."

"Kira would kill you for saying that. So would Cassie, for that matter. And Tanya. And—"

"I get the idea. How do you know he wasn't doing it? I sent him to you so he could be safe, and what did you do? You let him go off and become a Ranger! How do I know you're not letting him have sex, too?"

"Do you remember your days as a Ranger? The reason you're still a virgin is because you didn't have enough energy to do anything once the battles were over. And because after Kim and Kat you never really loved any of the girls you dated enough, but that's beside the point."

Tommy chose to ignore that comment and get back to the matter at hand. "Does he have a girlfriend?" he asked, trying to be sly.

"I hope so. He's been pining for her since he moved there. He's a real Red that way."

"Oh please, your Red theory doesn't hold up and you know it."

"Oh really? Every single Red fell in love at first sight, or second sight if they were in the middle of saving someone's life. Leo fell in love at first sight, Jason did, you did, Eric did, Shane did, Conner did; and Andros fell in love after the crisis was over, along with Wes, and Carter. It's part of being a Red."

"Rocky didn't. Ha! You lose!"

"The fact that Rocky has yet to fall in love does not disprove my theory. Wait until he does, and then we'll know."

"You're on." After a few minutes Tommy said, "How'd you like Bulky Skulls?"

"It was hilarious! Did you know they have the Europe Incident?"

"Ah, yes, the reason why Kat developed an aversion to any and all sculpture. It's no wonder too, that's the most downloaded Ranger picture of all time."

Abbey shook her head. "Her wedding cake didn't even have the figurines on the top," she sighed as if it were a travesty.

"It was scary, reading through some of those old records. They came pretty close sometimes."

"How close?"

"Well, they use code names for people they absolutely know are not Rangers so the innocent will not be assaulted on the street by crazy people. So in one entry they say that they were walking through the park and heard strange noises from a bush. They carefully peeked over and saw TM and KM very, very occupied. They slowly backed away and turned to see a monster. They screamed and a few minutes later the White and Pink Rangers came soaring through the air above them. They never put it together. It's a miracle."

Abbey tried to laugh, but the mention of Kim had put her on edge.

Tommy considered his story for a moment then asked very slowly, "Did I mention Kim – while I was drunk?"

Abbey's face paled. "Pull over."

"What? What did I say?"

"Tommy, for the safety of you, me, and everyone in the state of California, please pull this car over."

Tommy did as she asked and turned on the emergency lights. Abbey got out and motioned for him to do the same. They had pulled over next to a small patch of dirt and dead grass and Abbey took him to the middle of it—away from the car and away from the small cliff at the side of the road. Sure, it wasn't high enough for him to kill himself on, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

"Tommy, be strong. Yesterday, you called Kim."

"Why didn't you stop me?" Tommy tried to yell, but it came out as a squeak.

"You're a Ranger, think about it. Anyway, you called Kim. You told her you loved her, that you'd always loved her, and that you were meant to be together. And then," she took a deep breath, wishing a comet would strike the Earth so she wouldn't have to say it, "you asked her to marry you."

Tommy's expression did not changed for several minutes. He just stood there, staring at Abbey with a crazy look in his eye. She could have sworn one of his pupils was dilating.

"Ahh!" Tommy yelled suddenly, grabbing his head and reeling back on his tiptoes. He fell forward onto his knees and began groaning. He rolled over and jumped a good three feet into the air, giving a great cry of "Lu-li-thugh!"

Over the next half hour two police cruisers, five doctors, three psychologists, and one mental asylum truck stopped. The last had been coming from another pickup and wondered if she wanted them to take Tommy off her hands. She had calmly explained, to each of them, that Tommy was not insane—most of the time. He had just found out that he had proposed to his first girlfriend and longtime ex last night while in a drunken stupor. Everyone had taken this as a good enough explanation and driven on, letting Abbey deal with Tommy in her own time.

Abbey was just wondering if she still had that tranquilizer gun in the back from when Cole had let all the animals out of the Mariner Bay Animal Shelter, when a news van pulled up. It was bad enough that a van full of teenagers had pulled up five minutes into Tommy's freakout and started taping, but reporters were dangerous. Abbey marched to Tommy, grabbed him by the ear and dragged him back to the car. They were gone before the cameraman could even set up.

"Hu do thom," Tommy gasped.

"I know," Abbey said.

"Hu thray sue dom!" Tommy whined.

"I know."

"Uh toe wro—"

"Tommy!" Abbey roared. "I know. Listen, right now you have to be strong. We're almost to Briarwood and you have to tell Nick about the family legacy. Odds are Kim realized you were drunk and didn't mean it anyway."

"Uh eye ih ee ih!" Tommy yelled.

"What?" Abbey screeched, coming to a very abrupt and dangerous stop in the middle of the highway. "What did you say?"

Tommy gasped as cars flew past, horns blazing. "I," he said slowly, "did mean it."

"Seriously?"

"Well, maybe. If she said yes, it's not like I'd back out."

Abbey smiled so big that Tommy thought she'd run out of teeth. She threw her arms around him. "I am so happy." She turned back to the road and started the car moving again. She wouldn't tell him about Kim going missing until she had to, not after that outburst.

* * *

**AN:** Sorry about the long wait, I was trying to see how many reviews I could get. Please review! I'm getting critiqued in my Creative Writing class tonight and could use some good comments. Next Chapter: How to Stop a Red Ranger (I think, I'm not about to turn my laptop on to find out, but that one is coming!) And later: baby shower! the amazing race! and (because we all know we love him) the return of drunk!Tommy! 


	6. Chapter 6: Dealing With the Olivers

_Author's Note: __Translations for gibberish are included after the actual gibberish._

**Oliver Family Reunion**

By JDPhoenix

Chapter 6: Dealing with the Olivers

"Where is Maddie?" Vida asked, walking into the Rock Porium.

"Haven't seen her," Xander said, leaning imperiously against the office door.

"Did she say she was coming here?" Chip asked, detaching himself from his now ever-present fangirls.

"No," Vida sighed, taking a seat on the steps to the DJ stage. "But she was gone before I woke up."

"She's probably in the forest," Xander said.

"Maybe."

"Come on, V, what's really wrong?" Chip asked, taking a seat next to Vida.

Vida took a deep breath. "Before Nick left, he gave Madison his baby blanket."

"Did they kiss?" Xander asked casually.

Vida rounded on him. "Do you honestly think I would tell you if my sister kissed a guy?" she roared. She sat back down and pouted. "And no, they didn't."

"Ha!" Chip cried. "Pay up!"

Xander sullenly pulled a few dollars out of his pocket and handed them to Chip.

"You two bet on whether or not Madison and Nick would kiss?" Vida asked, torn between indignation and humor.

"Oh please," Xander said, "those two have been dancing around each other since he moved here."

"Don't you remember how depressed he was when she got turned to stone?" Chip asked.

"And then when that guy showed up," Xander said, wincing in sympathy. "For a week all he did was snap at people."

"That's not true," Vida said.

"That's because you were almost always with Madison," Chip pointed out. "Once Maddie left, Nick would be a jerk again."

Xander smiled. "Do you remember when Daggeron showed up?"

Chip laughed. "Oh yeah."

"What happened?" Vida asked. She and Madison had gone home after the Rangers had saved Udonna and Claire, but the guys had gone back to the Rock Porium to close up for the night.

* * *

"Sometimes I don't even know why I have employees!" Toby yelled as the boys swept the floors. "And where are the Rocca sisters? They work here too, or so they say." 

"We thought we'd let the girls get their beauty sleep," Xander said.

"Yeah," Chip added, "it seemed like the chivalrous thing to do, especially after that thing with the frog this afternoon."

Nick made a small grunt and swept harder, but Toby didn't seem to notice.

"That is very nice of you," he said, looking over the three. "You let Maddie go home and rest after her trauma—and you let Vida go with her for comfort. Very nice."

"Hey, Toby," Xander said, draping an arm around the man's shoulders. "Why don't you head home? We can finish up here."

"Well, I could use some sleep, especially after you abandoned me this afternoon. Okay, just remember to lock all the doors and windows."

"Will do, boss," Xander said and dropped into a chair once the door had closed behind Toby. "I thought he'd never leave."

"Keep cleaning," Nick snapped.

"Hey," Xander joked, "you may be leader on the battlefield, but in the good old Rock Poruim I have seniority."

Chip smiled at the joke, but Nick didn't. He pulled Xander up by his collar and said, "Keep cleaning," his voice dark and frightening. He shoved Xander towards his dropped broom.

"What crawled up your pants?" Xander asked.

"Nothing," Nick said.

Chip and Xander shot each other looks. They went back to cleaning, working as fast as possible to keep Nick happy. When they'd all finished Nick stormed off to his motorcycle.

"Xander," Chip whispered, "we can't just let him go off like this."

"I know," Xander said. "I just really wish I didn't." He slowly crossed the deserted street. "Hey, Nick?" Nick stiffened, but didn't turn or say anything.

"What's wrong, Nick?" Chip asked. "You've been acting off ever since we got back to Rootcore."

"Was it the battle?" Xander asked when Nick still said nothing.

"Do you not like Daggeron?" Chip asked slowly.

Xander could have sworn he saw light coming from inside Nick's fists. "Man," he said, "Daggeron's our friend. Just because Kalendor—"

"I don't care about Kalendor!" Nick roared, whirling around. The two boys fell back a few feet. The heat emanating from Nick was enough to flash fry a turkey. "I don't care about any of them! Now just leave me alone!"

Chip shot Xander a look and the older boy sighed. He knew Chip was right, but he really didn't want to do this. He held up three fingers—two—one. They charged at Nick. The three ended up tumbling over the motorcycle and fighting in a heap on the ground. Xander somehow detached himself from the chaos and stumbled to his feet. He looked up at the tree Nick always parked under. Might as well, he thought. He pulled out his wand and the branches of the tree quickly picked Nick up, pulling him into the trunk and into the forest.

"Let's go," Xander said to Chip, jumping after their leader.

When he got to the other side he started fighting Nick. After a few minutes of Xander getting beaten up, Chip stepped in to give him a breather. Another few minutes later Xander stepped back in, letting Chip rest. After about an hour of this, Nick finally collapsed to his knees.

"Are you done yet?" Xander asked irritably.

Nick panted in response.

"You'd better be," Chip said, collapsing on the ground. "Why don't you just tell her?" he asked suddenly.

"Wha-?" Nick asked.

Xander took over. "Why don't you just tell Madison you're in love with her? Everyone knows it."

"Wha-?" Nick cried. He tried to get up but just ended up falling flat on his back. "Ah _ohn_ ov ehr!" — "I _don't_ love her!"

"Whatever man," Xander said. "Just try not to kill Daggeron."

"It's not like Madison knew what she was doing," Chip added. "How was she supposed to know he was a person?"

"Uh! Ee ew!" Nick said. — "Oh! She knew!"

The other two ignored that comment and lay there for a while longer.

"Do you think Udonna would be mad if we used our powers to teleport home?" Xander asked suddenly.

"Since I can barely move," Chip said, "I don't really care."

"Good." Xander pulled out his phone and typed a code. The three boys disappeared into a seal.

* * *

"It's not that funny," Xander said. 

"Yes," Vida gasped, "it is." She and Leelee were holding each other for support.

"It is sweet though," Necrolai said, nuzzling closer to Toby.

"Yeah," Leelee sighed, tears streaming down her face, "he was so broken up about it that he could beat the two of you up!" She erupted into peals of laughter once more.

The door suddenly flew open. A tall, menacing figure stood in the doorway, looking over the store's occupants. Chip's fangirls cowered in a corner. Necrolai pushed Toby and Leelee behind her. This figure practically oozed power.

"Where is he?" the figure growled and an unholy glow came from his eyes.

"Oh knock it off," a familiar voice snapped, pushing the figure forward. The figure stumbled in and Necrolai could see that it was a man with short brown hair and chocolate eyes. But they had been green a moment before….

The girl who had pushed the man was met with surprised cries of "Abbey?"

"Hey guys," the girl said, smiling. "Do you know where Nick is? We need to talk to him."

"Um," Chip looked at Vida. Vida looked at Xander.

"Why don't we go over to your house?" Xander said, tying to usher the pair out the door.

"I don't think so," the man said, crossing his arms. Xander froze. He may have been a Ranger, but this man made him feel like his first battle with Koragg all over again.

"Stop intimidating them, Tommy," Abbey sighed. "Guys," she said to the store, "this is my big brother, Tommy."

"And I want to talk to Nick," Tommy said coldly.

"Nick's not here," Chip said.

Tommy smirked. "Isn't he? Nicholas Russell Oliver!" he bellowed.

Abbey's eyes widened and she rubbed her ears. "They have no reason to lie, Tommy."

Tommy glared.

"Here," Abbey led him into the store and several patrons raced out behind him, "why don't you try to guess colors while I talk to the nice people?"

Tommy glared hard at Vida. "You're a Pink. You like to string people along, get their hopes up. You probably have a different boyfriend in every state."

Abbey rolled her eyes. After his little performance on the side of the road, it had taken Tommy a while to calm down. Once he had regained the ability to speak he had asked to go to the bathroom. Abbey had pulled over and taken the opportunity to refill the gas tank. When Tommy hadn't returned after twenty minutes she went looking for him. She found him in a bar half a mile away. Tommy had since fallen into a state of paranoia, wondering why Kim hadn't returned his call.

"Xander," Abbey began, "I really need to find Nick. Could you just tell me where he is? It's kind of a family emergency."

Xander was about to explain that he had no idea where Nick was exactly when Tommy jabbed a finger in Phineas' direction with a cry of "You!" Leelee pushed Phineas behind her back and Necrolai pushed Leelee behind her back. Chip used the distraction to pull out his cell phone.

"What now?" Abbey asked.

"He's evil!"

"What?" half the room cried.

"I can tell!" Tommy said. "My evil-dar is going crazy all over this guy!"

Abbey rubbed her temples. "You don't have evil-dar! Honestly, how long did you work in that school before you realized the principal had been trying to kill you for months?"

"Shut up."

"Xander," Abbey pleaded. "Please."

"Honestly, Abbey, we don't know where Nick is. He left yesterday. Madison was the last one to see him—"

"Is this Madison a girl?" Tommy asked.

"Don't answer that," Abbey said quickly.

"She is! She's a girl and she's a—" Tommy looked around the room. "Blue?! She's a Blue? No! Nick, why? Why did you have to bring such shame on the family?"

"Tori's a Blue," Abbey said.

"Exactly! And she is insane!"

"She is not insane. Now will someone please tell me where Madison is?"

"I'm right here," Madison said, confused. She was standing in the doorway and wondering why her friends were making strange hand motions.

"Ah-ha!" Tommy yelled. "She is a girl! And she is a Blue!" Madison was wearing a blue blouse. "And she has Nick's blanket!" Tommy screeched. Madison was carrying a large mesh bag and the red blanket was sticking out of it.

"Um," Madison could not think of anything to say.

"Please excuse my brother," Abbey said. "He's having a hard couple of days."

"How hard could it be?" Necrolai asked contemptuously. She did not like this man, even if he was Nick's brother.

"Tommy lost Hayley—"

Tommy wailed and put his head in his hands on the counter.

"—his right-hand woman since he graduated college. It hit him hard. And then yesterday he got drunk and called his ex and proposed. And now he's drunk again and we _really_ need to talk to Nick, so will someone please!"

"Chip!" Daggeron called, bursting into the room. Itasis and Genji were right behind him.

"What's going on?" Genji asked.

"This is Nick's sister," Chip said. "And his brother, he's drunk so be nice. They want to talk to Nick."

"Oh." Daggeron pulled an envelope out of his sleeve. "Mi'lady? Nick left this for you."

"Left?" Abbey breathed. She pounced on the envelope, tearing it open. Tommy read over her shoulder.

"I know this is going to be a shock, but I'm the Red Ranger."

Tommy scoffed. "Absolutely no sense of delivery!"

Abbey shook her head, skipping to the end.

"I know you have a lot of questions. But I found my biological parents here and I wanted them to meet Mom and Dad as soon as possible. It'll probably take a while to explain everything, but I'll call as soon as they're done processing."

"He's gone to tell Mom and Dad," Abbey said. She looked like she'd just read a suicide note. "Tommy!" she yelled, grabbing her brother by the shoulders and shaking him. "Nick is going to tell Mom and Dad that he's a Power Ranger!"

Tommy's eyes widened. "Med kit," he croaked after a few seconds.

"What?"

"Silver Guardian issue. I know you have one."

Realization dawned on Abbey. She raced out of the room and came back a moment later with a silver first aid kit. She unlatched it and pulled out a small paper pouch. Inside was a capsule that Billy had developed after a trip to Triforia. It turned out that a drunk Triforian was a very frightening thing. Billy had been inspired to create a capsule that would burn through the alcohol in the body at a very fast rate. Sadly, the capsule was dangerous for anyone but a Ranger to take, and even Rangers didn't use them unless they had to because DECA had the backup supply and explaining to her was not fun. Plus, they made the hangover much worse.

Tommy pulled the capsule out of her hands and swallowed it whole.

"You're supposed to dissolve it in water!" Abbey cried.

"No time!" Tommy snapped. "Call Josh!"

Abbey pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Josh's number.

"Hello?"

"Jo? It's Abbey. This is an emergency. Have you seen Nick?"

"Yeah, he stayed here last night with his birth parents. They were gone before we woke up though."

Abbey cursed under her breath. "Do you know if they were planning on taking the Northern or Southern route?"

"No, why? What's happened?"

"Nick's a Red and he's going to tell Mom and Dad."

"Oh no," Jo breathed. "We'll take the Northern route."

"Thanks. Oh, and Jo?" Abbey lowered her voice. "If you see Kim, call. I can't go into it now."

"Will do."

The two hung up and Abbey turned back to a now sober Tommy. "What about Kim?" he asked, throwing back a couple aspirin.

"Nothing," Abbey said, trying to give her best innocent-little-sister look.

Tommy glared.

"You'll just freak out if I tell you."

Tommy glared harder.

"She left her hotel in the middle of the night and no one's seen her since." Abbey held up her hands. "She's probably just planning some sort of surprise for the shower. Now come on! We've got to stop Nick!"

"Hold it!" Itasis said, crossing her arms and barring the doorway. "Why do you have to stop Nicholas from telling his parents the truth about himself?"

Tommy stepped forward. "Who are you?"

"I am Itasis. I was one of the Ten Terrors, the most powerful warriors in the Underworld. I now seek to learn more about this human concept of courage."

"Great. Do you know who I am?"

"You are Nicholas' brother."

"No. I'm Tommy Oliver. Now, I'm pretty sure that even in the depths of the Underworld—especially in the depths of the Underworld—you've heard that name." He stared at her for a moment that seemed to stretch into forever. "Move."

She did.

"Tommy Oliver?" Necrolai breathed.

"Wow," Leelee said.

"I don't get it," Vida said, "who's Tommy Oliver?"

"Tommy Oliver," Itasis said, "is the greatest Ranger ever to walk the Earth."

The room was silent, in awe of that pronouncement and the fact that they had just met a legend.

"Cool," Chip said.

* * *

_AN: Thank you to GinaStar, Lavonne Adams, and moonlite-n-roses for **review**ing the last chapter. _

_Next time: the baby shower (almost every Ranger girl is there, how normal could it be?) and Mexican Prison (what happened to Kim)_


	7. Chapter 7: Mexican Prison

_Author's Note: Spanish translations are in italics after the lines. I apologize if I made any mistakes. Heaven knows I make enough at work (where I speak spanish for at least a fifth of the day)._

**Oliver Family Reunion**

By JDPhoenix

Chapter 7: Mexican Prison

"This is bad," Trini said, pacing back and forth.

"The party's going great," Maya soothed.

"Yeah," Karone said, "I never would have thought Taylor'd like what we did."

Trini smiled. Taylor _was_ having a good time.

She looked past Taylor and saw a mass of Red. Eric, Wes, Jason, Leo, and Andros were there. Eric was there because he was the bait to get Taylor to the surprise party, Wes because Eric would be damned if he didn't make his best friend suffer with him, Jason because Trini had said so, Leo because he thought he could come to Earth with Maya and Kendrix and then weasel out of the party and go hang out with some fellow Reds (yeah, right!), and Andros because Ashley was there and if he didn't come he'd have to watch the kids with Zhane—or the kids and Zhane, since that's what it usually ended up being anyway. Cole and Carter had gotten out of coming because of a wildfire—Carter was going to stop the fire, Cole to save the animals. Trini still wasn't sure if she believed they hadn't set it themselves, but she had bigger problems at the moment.

"Kim's still not here," Trini said, wringing her hands. "Something's wrong. I can feel it."

"What do we do?" Kendrix asked quietly. "The guys are going to start noticing soon."

Trini sighed and tried to think.

"We go find her," Taylor said, suddenly bursting in on their little huddle. "We're Ranger women, for Heaven's sake! We stick by our own! And it wouldn't be a Ranger party if there wasn't some sort of crisis." Taylor's face split into a wicked grin.

"It will be fun," Princess Shayla said.

Trini grinned. "All right. Let's go find—"

"Argh!" Wes suddenly screamed, jumping to his feet. All of the women turned to look at him. "How could you let me touch that?" Wes demanded of Eric.

Eric stayed in his seat, looking at the buffet table, and smiling wickedly. Trini glanced at Taylor's stomach. That baby'd probably come out ginning like a hyena.

"I'll kill you!" Wes yelled, jumping on Eric and trying to strangle him.

"Breast pump," Dana snickered. Trini looked, and she was right, there was a fallen breast pump where Wes had been standing.

The two boys rolled around on the floor for a few minutes while the other men laughed. Then Wes heard the laughing and grabbed Andros' ankle. Andros—in a futile attempt to stay out of the fighting—grabbed Leo, Leo grabbed Jason, and Jason grabbed a box that Trini had set next to him and made him promise not to look into. The three men and the box tumbled into the fray. The box was soon torn open and several full baby diapers fell out. They were supposed to be used for a game of Name That Smell, but were now used as projectiles. Andros stumbled to his feet and was hit in the head with a very stinky diaper. When it hit the floor, Leo grabbed it up and threw it at Wes. Andros, with nothing at hand to throw, used his telekinesis. The cake which read "It's A Human!"—a private joke between Eric and Wes, since Wes had been in charge of picking up the cake—came flying across the room and hit Wes, Jason, and Eric in the back. The three stood stunned for a moment before picking up pieces of fallen cake to throw as well.

Sometime between this and Leo getting thrown through the wall into the middle of the Ladies' Garden Club meeting next door, the women left.

* * *

"Hello," a man said, coming to sit at a table outside Kim's cell. He had long, black hair and bright green eyes. He wore a business suit and carried a briefcase. 

"Hello," Kim said sullenly in reply.

"My name is Jose Martinez-Garcia. I'm here to try and get you out of prison without too much incident."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you tell me what happened, and I try and figure out a legal way to let you out of prison so this doesn't become a news frenzy."

Kim laughed. "I was going to help a- um, friend and I got lost. Somehow I crossed the border and this dog-deer-thing jumped out and I swerved and here I am."

"You went to help your friend in your pajamas?"

"I was in a hurry."

"Whatever. And your name is?"

"Oh," Kim blushed. "Kimberly Ann Hart."

"Do you have any ID?"

"I left it in the hotel."

"Hotel?"

"We were all in Silver Hills, setting up for a surprise baby shower for another friend when the first friend called."

"Okay. I'm afraid we can't just let you go though. That was reckless driving."

"I swerved to avoid a dog, er, deer-thing!"

"You aren't supposed to swerve!"

"I know!" Kimberly crossed her arms and pouted.

"Listen, I'm gonna go talk to the sheriff and see if he'll let you out on bail." Kim pouted harder and Senor Martinez-Garcia left.

"Está loca," he said when he got to the front office. _She's crazy._

"Sí," the sheriff laughed. _Yes._

"Hey, guys, what's up?" a newcomer waltzed into the room.

"Ah," the sheriff said, getting up to embrace the young man, "mi nieto. Como estás?" _Ah, my grandson. How are you?_

"Bien." The young man turned to the lawyer. "Por que está aqui?" _Good….Why are you here?_

"Está una loca chica Americana alli," Senor Martinez-Garcia laughed. _There's a crazy American girl in there._

"Really?" the man asked, switching to English in his excitement. "Where's she from?"

"California, I think."

"Can I talk to her?" The sheriff shot his grandson a look and the young man winced. He knew it was rude to speak English around his grandfather, who spoke none, when he was perfectly capable of speaking Spanish.

"I see no reason why not, just don't hit on her."

"Why would I do that?"

The man walked back into the jail as his grandfather and friend began discussing the charges against the woman.

The young man froze midstep as he entered the jail. "Kim?" he balked.

"Rocky?" Kim shouted, jumping to her feet.

"You're the crazy woman that rolled her car over into the creek?"

"It wasn't a creek, it was a ditch." Kim sat back down on her bench.

"It was a creek a hundred years ago," Rocky said, taking the lawyer's old seat. "Man, what are you doing here? And what are you wearing?"

Kim crossed her arms over her chest and pulled her feet beneath her. "I got lost."

"And drove into Mexico?"

"It could happen! Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Avoiding the chaos." Kim raised an eyebrow and he explained. "A few months ago I was out with Adam and Aisha and she said something about Taylor being pregnant and how they had to throw her a baby shower and I high-tailed it here. My great-great-grandfather helped found this town. The sheriff's my grandfather, that's why he let me see you. He thought you might like me more than Jose."

"You mean you wanted to flirt with a helpless American girl."

To Kim's surprise, Rocky actually blushed. "No, I just wanted to help. Really, I'd never do that."

"Rocky DeSantos, what is going on?"

Rocky smiled shyly. "Well, I came to the town and there was this girl and—"

"Rocky," Kim gasped. "You're in love!"

"Not so loud! No one knows yet!"

"That's what all the Reds say," Kim said, waving him off.

"All right, Miss Hart," Jose said, coming back in. "We're charging you 800 U.S. dollars for a sign you hit, the tow truck, the police efforts to bring you in, and your stay in the jail. Unless you want to fight the fines?"

"There are no charges?" Kim asked.

"No. Do you want to fight the fines?"

"No," Kim said quickly, relieved.

"Is there anyone you would like to call to bring you the money?"

Kim looked up at the man, she hadn't remembered that she had no money with her. She turned pleading eyes on Rocky. Rocky winced, he knew there was no way out of it.

"I'll pay it. But you owe me, Kimberly," he said severely.

"You have no idea."

"Why are you paying her fine?" Jose asked.

"We're old friends," Rocky sighed. "Come on, I'll get the money."

* * *

_AN: Thank you all so much for your **review**s. I got more than I even hoped for the day I posted._

_Next Time: That desert heat makes people do crazy things._


	8. Chapter 8: The Great Race

_Author's Note: Just so you don't think I'm pulling this out of thin air…. I took many trips between the southern California coast and Phoenix, Arizona when I was growing up—there are two routes: the Northern and Southern, both take about eight hours and aside from the occasional tourist stop are pretty much the same. (I love those tourist stops, they made the trip bearable, but young as I was I don't remember which route has what and they all sort of bled together. Please don't be offended by my flippant tone if you live there.)_

_Enough really long author's note. Enjoy the story!_

**Oliver Family Reunion**

By JDPhoenix

Chapter 8: The Great Race

"This is bad," Tommy said for the hundredth time. He was hunched over the steering wheel and putting all of his racecar training to use.

Abbey gripped her seat. "Tommy, I know it's bad, everyone knows it's bad. Now will you please stop scaring the other drivers!"

They had gone onto the side of the road to pass a minivan filled with little kids coming home after their first trip to Disneyland. Abbey's car was currently at a sixty-degree angle, the right wheels at the bottom of the small incline off the road and the left wheels barely touching the pavement. Tommy turned the wheel violently to the left and they were suddenly in front of the Disney van. Abbey breathed a sigh of relief when she looked back to see the van still moving steadily.

The drive through the Arizona desert was like a cartoon walk cycle. There were two lanes going both ways and the divider was a ten-foot wide stretch of dirt. Beyond the asphalt's edge was yellow desert that seemed to go on forever. Occasionally a town would pop up. Thankfully, they were few and far between, or a cop would probably have pulled them over by now.

Abbey was about to chastise Tommy again when her cell rang. "What?" she cried.

"Abbey?" It was a very freaked out sounding Madison.

"What, Maddie?"

Tommy's eyes widened.

"She is not pregnant!" Abbey hissed, putting a hand over the receiver.

"There are a lot of people here looking for your brother."

"Which one?" Abbey sighed.

"Tommy."

"Oh. What do they look like?"

"Well, they're all women and most of them are wearing pink or yellow and one's wearing blue and one's wearing some weird princess dress and one's pregnant and—"

"Madison," Abbey said slowly, "one of the older ones should have long black hair and be wearing yellow. Give her the phone."

As Madison walked the phone over to Trini, Abbey could hear Chip ask, "Is that Cassie Chan? And Ashley Hammond?" This was the worst day ever.

"Abbey?" Trini's voice came over the phone, all business.

"What's up, Trini?"

"What's Trini doing there?" Tommy asked.

"Have you seen Kim?" Trini asked.

"No, we're looking for Nick. Aren't you supposed to be running a baby shower?"

"This is the baby shower," Trini explained. "Why are you looking for Nick?"

"He won't answer his cell and he's going to tell our parents that he's a Ranger."

"Nicky's a Ranger?" Tanya squealed—apparently she had been listening in—and several of the other women began asking questions.

"Yes," Trini said, her voice dark. Abbey could hear Tanya scampering away and was glad this wasn't a videophone. "And he's going to tell your parents?" Trini asked, suddenly grasping the gravity of the situation.

"Yes."

"Where is he?"

"He and his biological parents—also Rangers—spent last night with Josh, but he didn't know what Nick was going to do so he let them leave. Assuming Nick's going straight to Phoenix he has a choice after Charterville between the Northern and Southern routes. We're on the Southern, Josh and Jo have taken the Northern."

"We're on our way."

"I don't know how much you can help—"

Taylor's voice cut her off. "It's my baby shower and I say we're coming! It's not a party without a high speed chase involving airspace clearance over at least two states!"

"She has a point," Aisha said in the background.

"Fine," Abbey sighed, glad for the help though not so sure she would be when all was said and done. "But remember, we don't want our parents to know."

Whoever was holding the phone at that moment hung-up.

"The women are coming, aren't they?" Tommy asked. He really was very astute when he wasn't in a drunken, sorrow-induced stupor. He usually reserved his drinking for Valentine's Day, which was how he had managed to get his bachelors in only three years.

"Yes," Abbey said stiffly.

"This cannot end well."

The phone rang again.

Trini spoke before Abbey had a chance to. "Does that mean the other newbies are in Briarwood?"

"Vida and Madison. V has pink hair and Maddie's the one who called me."

"Great, thanks!" Trini hung up before Abbey could say anything else.

"They're bringing the new girls too?" Tommy asked calmly.

"Yes," Abbey said.

"Wonderful."

Tommy veered to the left. There was just enough room between the two cars in the left lane for their car to fit in and Abbey bit back a scream. Tommy veered back to the right in front of the very slow car they had been behind.

The phone rang again.

"What, Trini?" Abbey snapped.

"Trini?" Kimberly's voice came over the phone. "Why do you think I'm Trini?"

Abbey breathed a sigh of relief. "She's been calling a lot lately. Where have you been? Everyone's worried sick about you."

"Mexico, don't ask. Rocky's driving me back up because he doesn't think I can make it on my own and we just saw a car that looked a whole lot like yours doing some really crazy things."

"Are you in Arizona?"

"Yeah."

"That's us. Tommy's driving. We're trying to catch Nick to stop him from telling our parents that he's a Ranger."

"Nick knows Tommy's a Ranger?" Kim yelled.

"Nick knows?" Rocky echoed in the background.

"No," Abbey said, "Nick _is_ a Ranger."

"Seriously?" Kim asked. "Nick's a Ranger?"

"Now Nick's a Ranger too?" Rocky asked. "What is it with that family?"

"Yes," Abbey said. "Nick's a Ranger and he's about to tell Mom and Dad."

"Whoa!" Tommy said.

"What?"

"This little pink beetle just did a U-ey in the middle of the freeway. It's coming up behind us."

"Kim?" Abbey asked. "Do you have a pink beetle?"

"Yeah."

"That's Kim?" Tommy yelled. Rocky pulled even with Tommy and waved. Tommy waved weakly back.

"Speaker phone," Abbey heard Rocky order. She and Kim obligingly switched their phones to speaker mode and set them between the seats.

"What about the Northern route?" Rocky asked, dropping back behind Tommy to get around a semi.

"Josh has it covered," Tommy ground out.

"Pull over," Abbey begged.

"Why?" Rocky asked.

"Not you—Tommy. Come on, you have to talk to Kim and you can't do it at these speeds."

"I was a racecar driver," Tommy said firmly.

"You were an amateur racecar driver and you quit."

"I piloted zords."

"Not the same. Now please, you've had a very stressful few days and I'd rather not die a fiery death."

"You won't drive as fast as I will."

"Why does he have to talk to Kim?" Rocky cut in.

When neither Kim nor Tommy spoke up Abbey said, "Because Tommy proposed yesterday."

"To Kim?" Rocky yelled, almost swerving into a Cadillac with two very frightened senior citizens inside.

"Yes."

"I was drunk," Tommy whispered, passing a Hummer.

"I knew it!" Kim yelled.

"But-" Rocky began. They were so close. He had proposed. "But if she said 'yes,' would you go back on it?" he asked quietly.

Tommy was silent. He just kept passing every vehicle they came upon. "No," he said finally. "I meant every word I said."

No one said a word.

"And Kim," Rocky pressed, "would you have said 'yes'?"

Kim swallowed. She could see Tommy shooting her sidelong glances from the other car. "Yes," she said quietly.

The Arizona desert was filled with the sound of two men whooping for joy and two women laughing happily.

* * *

"Why isn't she picking up?" Trini asked. 

She was currently taking the Northern route to Phoenix along with all female Rangers through the Galaxy Team. The girls had decided to turn the chase into a competition and had—in true Ranger spirit—kidnapped Vida and Madison. With Shayla joining in and Kimberly still missing it was an easy split: nine to a team.

The only problem? Abbey was not answering her phone.

Trini pulled up her contact list as Tanya crested a hill. Just because they were taking the Northern route didn't mean they were using the road.

The dune buggy had been Tanya's final project in auto shop—a class she'd taken because everything else was full. She had made some last minute alterations to it after gaining the Turbo powers just before graduation and still tinkered with it every so often. It was almost as fast as her old Dune Star.

"Hello?" a very serious-sounding Jo asked.

"Jo? It's Trini, first Yellow."

"Oh, hey. What's up?"

"Have you found Nick?"

"You know about that? No, we're stuck in traffic. Honestly, I'm this close to pulling my mountain bike off the roof and beetle blasting."

"Don't bother, we'll stop him."

"'We'?" Jo asked, suddenly very afraid.

Trini quickly explained about the baby shower, Kim's disappearance, kidnapping the newbies, and the race to stop Nick.

"Wow," Jo marveled. "Now I remember why I avoid you people."

Trini laughed, taking it as a compliment. "We're putting on quite a show. Ashley, Cassie, Kendrix, and Maya are using those weird board things and flying above us. Tanya, Kat, Aisha, Karone, and I are all in this supped up dune buggy of Tanya's. I can't imagine what the others are doing."

* * *

"Oh my God," Kim breathed, looking through Abbey's car to the far side of the highway. 

"What?" Tommy and Rocky asked, turning. Running through the desert and keeping pace with the two cars was a giant white tiger.

Abbey rolled down her window and stuck her head out, looking up. A giant yellow eagle was soaring overhead. A motorcyclist came up alongside the car and smacked Abbey in the head.

"Don't you know that's dangerous?" the rider laughed.

"Tori?" Kim yelled.

"And Kira." Tommy's old student appeared between the two cars on her own motorcycle.

Tommy rolled down the window. "Where did you get that?"

"They're the same ones we used when we were Rangers, we just took the armor off to be less conspicuous."

"Yeah, this is inconspicuous," Tommy grumbled.

"Don't worry," Tori said, "I put mud over your license plates."

"What is going on?" Rocky asked.

His phone rang in answer. It was Kelsey, who explained everything as quickly as she could.

"Well that's all well and good," Rocky said. "But do we have any idea how we're going to stop Nick?"

Everyone looked at each other. This was bad.

* * *

_AN: Will they stop Nick? Will this insane two-state chase cost them their identities anyway? Will Taylor have a boy or a girl? Will Tommy and Rocky get tickets? Will that Hidiac ever escape from Mistress Auldley? Find the answers to some of these questions in **The Final Chapter**!_

**_Review!_**


	9. Chapter 9: Suburban Battlezone

_Author's Note: To everyone who's been reading for a while: check out the new summary and tell me what you think. I never know what to put to make the story sound interesting._

_Here it is—the final chapter—I hope it satisfies._

**Oliver Family Reunion**

By JDPhoenix

Chapter 9: Suburban Battlezone

After much apologizing to the Ladies' Garden Club, the five men had seen that the women were gone. They tried calling them but either got busy signals or no answer at all. They quickly realized that something was up and called Cole and Carter back. The wildfire had been taken care of in under an hour and the two boys had just been hanging out in a local park. Cole was currently leading the men to their wives by asking animals if they'd seen them.

"He says they all went in here and came out with two other girls," Cole said, standing in front of a music store.

"Considering that 'he' is a badger," Jason muttered, "I'm not convinced."

"Are you sure you can't get anything from Ashley or Karone?" Leo asked Andros.

"No, they're both ignoring my telepathic calls. It's very annoying."

"Come on," Carter said, leading the way into the store.

When they walked in they were met with varying degrees of surprise. No wonder, Wes thought, since five of them were covered in cake. Though, since there were several non-humans in the room, he didn't think it was _that_ odd.

"Who are you?" a man with long, curly hair sighed. Wes raised an eyebrow—if he'd had a woman like that massaging his back, he wouldn't have been so sad.

"We're looking for our wives," Leo said.

"They were with a large group of women," Eric supplied.

"You mean the ones that stole two of my employees?" the man accused. "I thought the days of fair-weather workers were gone!"

"You're Andros!" a boy with red hair said, coming up to them eagerly. "You mean the group that was with Ashley Hammond and Cassie Chan, right?"

The men looked at each other. "Uh, yeah," Jason said. "Do you know where they went?"

"Who wants to know?" a boy with an Australian accent stepped forward, arms crossed.

"Listen, kid," Carter began.

"Hold it!" A large man with dark hair and eyes stepped forward. "There's an easy way to settle this. Chip? You seemed to recognize this man."

"Yeah," the redhead said, "he's Andros. He was the Red Astro Ranger."

"Is that true?" the large man asked.

"Yes," Andros said firmly. He wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

"All right then." The man introduced himself as Daggeron and explained the events of the day: Abbey showing up looking for Nick, her insane brother being revealed as Tommy Oliver, them going after Nick, the female Rangers showing up, the call to Abbey about the missing Kimberly, and the kidnapping of Maddie and Vida.

"We have to help them," Cole said.

"Wait," Jason said. "The girls were all hyped up for an adventure and as much grief as they give us about jumping into things I doubt they actually had a plan, they probably figured Tommy'd have one. If Kim's missing, Tommy will not be thinking about Nick. He may be going to stop Nick, but he won't have a plan to do it. So, we have to be Reds about this, we may even make up for that Forever Red fiasco the girls are still making us pay for. We need a plan." Jason looked around the room. He took in the monsters and warriors and the two boys who were obviously Rangers. "And I know just what it is. Hey, you two!" Xander and Chip perked up. "You want to help save the world one more time?"

* * *

"It will be all right, Bowen," Udonna said, laying a comforting hand on her son's shoulder. 

"I know," Nick said, "I'm just nervous."

"Come on," Leanbow said, "we're almost there."

The three took off at a slower pace down the road. Just a few more streets and Nick would see his parents again. He'd be able to tell them everything. He'd grown up in Angel Grove, so he knew his parents felt the Power Rangers were good people. But there was a big difference between seeing someone on TV every so often and having them over for holiday dinner. They drove slowly onto the street, careful to keep their engines from getting too loud.

"Well," Nick said as they came closer to the house, "here we—"

"Brains!" a voice cried and several people could be heard screaming.

"Halt monster!" an overly dramatic Red Ranger yelled. Six other Red Rangers and two more Rangers in Yellow and Green suits that Nick recognized all too well were surrounding Matoombo and Phineas, both of whom were walking around like zombies trying to feast on brains.

"What is going on?" Leanbow asked, dismounting his motorcycle. Nick and Udonna did the same.

"I have no idea," Nick said. He was about to call out to them when he and his parents were grabbed by their collars and dragged into some bushes.

* * *

Team Original and Team Young—as they wanted to be called—came at the Oliver's street from opposite sides. They had left the zords and Ranger gear at the city limits and had either run for it or squished illegally into much too small vehicles. But when they reached the street they realized two things very quickly: that grabbing Nick from his parents' porch and dragging him off would raise some awkward questions—which was exactly what they were trying to stop—and that they didn't need to do much of anything because there was a fake emergency being played out in the middle of the residential neighborhood. 

Trini pulled out her communicator and called Team Young, they were on the far side of the street from Nick. She quickly told them that a couple of them should morph and go "help" the menfolk. She then turned to her own team and grabbed Jo and Josh. Nick should recognize them.

The three of them snuck up behind Nick and his parents just as Nick was about to yell something and pulled them into some bushes.

"What the—?" Nick began.

"Shut up!" Trini ordered the struggling Rangers. "We're not going to hurt you!"

"Trini?" Nick gaped. His parents stopped struggling to listen.

"Yes, Trini," she said irritably. "We're here to stop you from telling your parents you're a Ranger."

"You know I'm a Ranger?"

"You're Nick _Oliver_," Jo said. "The only reason we didn't know sooner was because Abbey was keeping it from us."

"Abbey knew?"

"Of course Abbey knew," Josh said. "She's known about Tommy for years."

"What about Tommy?" Nick's voice was rising to a very dangerous level.

"Listen, hon," Trini said, "we'll explain everything later. Right now we have to sneak out of here without your parents seeing us. Come on."

* * *

"Brains!" Phineas cried happily as the Rangers threw fake punches at him. 

"Brains!" Matoombo said, dancing to a beat only he could hear.

The Rangers were having a hard time not laughing.

"Need some help?" a White Ranger called, running up with a Yellow Ranger at her side.

"Wow," Wes marveled. "I didn't know you could morph when you were pregnant."

This earned him a punch from Eric.

"Let's not start that again!" Jason bellowed, effectively stopping the schoolyard brawl before it started. "Let's just deal with the monsters." He fought the urge to use air-quotes when he said the last word.

A few minutes into the not really exciting fight Andros' communicator beeped. The Rangers led the "monsters" to where three Yellow Rangers were waiting.

* * *

A couple came to stand on their front porch and watch the Rangers deal with this crisis. 

One of the Yellow Rangers—the one wearing a billowing cloth outfit instead of the signature spandex—waved at the couple. She was hit in the arm by the Yellow with a saber tooth tiger on her helmet.

The couple shook their heads as the Rangers disappeared in a flurry of sparks. And they had just been saying how nice it was to have moved out of Angel Grove.

* * *

Back at Tommy's house—because that was the only place the Rangers could think to go without being hounded by questions—everyone was talking at once. 

"That was the best baby shower ever!" Kira yelled.

"Totally," Tori agreed.

"I can't wait to get back to Mirinoi and tell everyone," Maya said.

"Damon and Kai'll flip," Kendrix agreed.

"Why didn't we think of using the MegaShip's transporter?" Karone asked. The fact that the boys had thought of it was irking many of the girls.

"I don't know," Ashley said.

"But it was fun anyway," Cassie sighed. The girls—except for Vida, who was making sure Matoombo didn't hurt Tommy's CD collection—were all sitting in a large circle on the grass, braiding each other's hair.

"We got to fight alongside the original Red Ranger!" Chip said.

"It was pretty cool," Xander said.

"Aw, Jason has fans," Rocky joked, poking Jason in the shoulder.

"Quiet!" Nick roared, stopping all further conversation and grabbing everyone's attention. "What is going on?" he demanded.

"Nicky, Nicky, Nicky," Josh said, coming over to pat Nick on the back. "Here's the thing. Everyone here," he waved an arm across the lawn, "well, everyone except the troblin and Abbey, is a superhero. Jo and I are Beetleborgs and everyone else is a Power Ranger."

"Tommy's the most famous Ranger there is," Kat said.

"Even Itasis knew who he was," Chip added.

"So—what?" Nick asked, turning to Tommy.

"You can't tell Mom and Dad you're a Ranger," Tommy said. "You can tell them about your parents—nice to meet you by the way—but you cannot tell them you're a Ranger."

"Why not?"

"We used to think we'd be able to tell our parents when it was all over," Kim said, "but when it was we just—couldn't."

"We'd spent so long keeping it from them," Tanya said, "it was just easier to keep it up."

"And then, when Terra Venture went up," Jason said thickly, "we realized we never could."

"Mike," Leo said, "my brother, was the one to pull the Red Quasar Saber from the stone, but he fell to what we thought was his death. He came back, but that didn't change the fact that for months we thought he was dead to us. And then—" Leo choked and Kendrix reached up from where she was sitting to put a hand on his knee.

"I died," she said, blinking quickly. "It obviously wasn't permanent, but up until that point no Ranger had ever died in the line of duty—at least none that anyone here has ever heard of."

"It was a big blow," Tommy said. "And then Forever Red happened and we realized that we were never really done being Rangers. It's a lifelong commitment, Nick, and Mom and Dad do not deserve that kind of fear."

"It's not better this way," Dana said, "but it's easier for them. My father knows and he's lost at least ten years of his life from worry."

Nick nodded slowly. "So," he said, "pretty much everyone we know saves the world?"

"Yup," Tommy said.

"Great."

"Come on, why don't you tell me about your days as a Ranger and I'll tell you about mine?"

Nick nodded dumbly.

"Hold it!" Trini yelled. "I believe somebody asked someone a question."

"What?" Cole asked blankly. No one had filled the men in on Tommy's drunken ramblings.

"Tommy called Kim and proposed yesterday," Karone said quickly.

"I already answered," Kim said, smiling mischievously.

"That reminds me," Tommy said, walking into the house, "how do you feel about a June wedding?"

The yard erupted into squeals of joy and cries of disbelief.

"Is life always like this?" Nick asked, falling onto Tommy's couch and listening to the chaos outside. Kim had just yelled something about Rocky and a girlfriend, sending the crowd into an even greater flurry. Nick could even have sworn he heard Abbey yelling, "I knew it!"

"No," Tommy said, pulling Nick's attention back to the much calmer living room, "but in this family, it happens more than is common. Now, do you remember when we first moved to Angel Grove?"

* * *

_AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to everyone who just read the whole thing. I hope you enjoyed it. God bless._

_AN2: The sequel (Oliver Wedding) is up._


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